Blackpool Murder: Burning Body Found In Alley

Two people have been arrested after the body of a 16-year-old girl was found burning in an alley in Blackpool.

Police have cordoned off the area around Kirby Road, South Shore, where the body was found, and specialist forensic officers were searching a nearby hotel.

A 22-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were arrested nearby and are being questioned by police.

Lancashire Police said the victim was Sasha Marsden, a student at Blackpool and Fylde College who lived in the Staining area with her parents.

The senior investigating officer is Detective Superintendent Andy Murphy from the Force Major Investigation Team.

He said: "This is an incredibly difficult and complex enquiry and we are working to try and build up a picture of what happened.

Student Sasha Marsden was reportedly set alight (Pic: Facebook)

"From examining the body, it appears to us that someone has attempted to set fire to Sasha and this is a line of enquiry that we are looking into.

"This is an incredibly difficult time for the family and we are keeping them informed of our investigation. Our officers will be supporting them as they attempt to come to terms with what has happened."

A post-mortem examination was planned for Friday evening.

Carl Evans, owner of the nearby Kimber Guest House, told Sky News he spotted the fire when he walked out into his back garden on Thursday evening.

"I heard the alarms going and saw the smoke, but I thought it was just someone burning rubbish," he said.

He added that some residents had attempted to put out the flames before realising it was a body on fire.

"The lass two doors up said someone seemed to have put something out - like a mannequin - but it turned out to be the body of a 16-year-old girl."

Friends paid tribute to the victim on a Facebook page called RIP Sasha Marsden.

Jordan Silkstone wrote: "Way too young, what this town coming too.. R.I.p huni x."

Emma James wrote: "R.I.P Sasha. I didn't know you very long but you was such a good mate.

"I will miss our little facebook chats. You always knew how to cheer me up when I was down. I hope the people who did this to you get what they deserve. Miss you always beautiful. Xxx."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Major Incident Room at Blackpool on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Kids Given Lessons On Dangers Of Social Media

By Emma Birchley, Sky News East of England Correspondent

The danger of posting personal information online is being taught to children as part of a pilot project to keep them safe from criminals.

Pupils at a primary school in Shropshire and a high school in Cambridge have been taking part in the trial launched by the Information Commissioner's Office.

The Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, said: "I think the danger is of jigsaw identification. You can put little bits of information out there and somebody can piece it all together.

"So the name of the game with the primary school kids is to explain to them how the online world works and how there are organisations who make money by getting a hold of your information and selling it on to someone else."

Between January and October 2012, 35 million pieces of personal information were illegally traded online - up from 19 million during the whole of 2011.

As much as 90% of that trade was in the form of login and password details.

It helps to explain why 24% of UK residents have been the victim of identity fraud.

And the need to teach children early in life became even more evident after an expert at the London School of Economics recently estimated a million nine to 12-year-olds already use Facebook, despite the fact they are meant to be 13 before becoming members.

Mark Neighbour has been leading the pilot project at St Bede's School in Cambridge with year nine pupils.

He said: "We want them to think about what type of information could be used by a third party ... Why do they need to know their age for instance? Why do they need to know where they live? Why do they need to know where they shop?

"What we want them to do is question themselves before they put pen to paper or finger to a keyboard because once the information is gone, once they hit return, it's out there and anyone can get to it and use it."

Many children are also unaware that what may be quickly posted on the internet can potentially still be seen by universities or employers checking up on candidates years later.

Melissa, 14, was one of the pupils who attended the lessons.

"The internet is really scary and you should think twice before you start posting things. What you tweet, talk about on Facebook, pictures, things like that ... it's out there forever."

Rebecca, who is 13, thinks all pupils would benefit from the classes.

"It's actually helped everyone understand what we need to be aware of using the internet and what people can do."

Schools already warn children about online safety as part of the IT curriculum but these lessons are said to go into more detail about the importance of protecting personal data on the internet and in everyday life.

If the pilot proves a success, it will be rolled out in schools nationwide.

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Horse DNA: Burger King Dumps Irish Supplier

Burger King has issued full page newspaper apologies after discovering horse DNA in patties from its supplier in Ireland.

The fast food chain said sorry to customers as it confirmed it was cutting ties with Silvercrest, the food processing plant that supplied contaminated burgers to UK supermarkets.

Burger King said its own tests for equine DNA in its burgers had come back negative and that four samples from the Silvercrest plant that did test positive were from a product that did not make it into restaurants.

The Miami-based chain said the failure to deliver 100% British and Irish beef patties was a violation of contracts.

The UK newspaper ads include a statement from Diego Beamonte, Burger King Corporation's vice president for global quality, who said: "While the Food Safety Authority of Ireland has stated that this is not a food safety issue, we are deeply troubled by the findings of our investigation and apologise to our guests, who trust us to source only the highest quality 100% beef burgers.

"Our supplier has failed us and in turn we have failed you. We are committed to ensuring that this does not happen again."

The Irish authorities said that their investigations had traced filler product used in the burger processing facility to a supplier in Poland.

It contained a mixture of beef and horse offcuts.

Experts from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) yesterday told the Commons Environment Committee that they could not be sure whether the contaminated burgers were being sold for more than a year.

Aldi is the latest supermarket to suspend supplies over burger content

Bosses at the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), who identified and publicised the controversy, or Department of Agriculture chiefs have yet to be questioned at a similar level in Dublin.

At least 10 million burgers were put into storage following the scandal. Silvercrest's parent company ABP Food Group initially said they would be destroyed.

Silvercrest had a contract to supply Burger King in the UK, Ireland and Denmark. It is understood the deals with the fast food chain and Tesco were worth in the region of £39m.

The Ballybay processing factory, closed since the scandal broke two weeks ago, employed 112 people.

Burger King said it had carried out its own internal investigation including scientific tests, inspection of the Silvercrest facility and scrutiny of traceability records over the last fortnight.

It has been using approved suppliers from Germany and Italy as a precaution since.

Burger King's apology came after Aldi suspended its contract with beefburger supplier Dalepak, having found small traces of horsemeat DNA in its products.

The supermarket withdrew three beefburger lines earlier this month after traces of pig meat and horsemeat were discovered, and launched an investigation.

"Aldi UK's customers are our absolute priority," a spokesman said. "This is why we immediately withdrew these products until such a time that we could verify that there was no risk to our customers.

"We are deeply angry and feel let down by our supplier and we are pursuing more tests until we are certain that we understand how the production line was contaminated."

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Police Watchdog 'Woefully' Inadequate, Say MPs

The police watchdog is "woefully under-equipped and hamstrung" and does not have the power or resources to get to the truth, a scathing report reveals.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) should be given a statutory power to require a force to implement its findings, the Home Affairs Select Committee said.

The watchdog is currently investigating the Hillsborough Disaster in the UK's biggest ever inquiry into police misconduct.

And more cases should be investigated independently by the IPCC instead of being referred back to the original police force on a "complaints roundabout".

The watchdog, which was established in 2004 and is chaired by Dame Anne Owers, investigates the most serious complaints against the police.

It also investigates allegations against the Serious Organised Crime Agency, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and the UK Border Agency.

A total of 31,771 officers were subject to a complaint during 2011/2012.

Keith Vaz says the IPCC leaves the public 'frustrated and failthless'

Committee chairman Keith Vaz MP said: "When public trust in the police is tested by complaints of negligence, misconduct and corruption, a strong watchdog is vital to get to the truth - but the IPCC leaves the public frustrated and faithless."

He added: "Nearly a quarter of officers were subject to a complaint last year.

"Many were trivial, but some were extremely serious, involving deaths in custody or corruption - it is an insult to all concerned to do no more than scratch the surface of these alleged abuses.

"The IPCC investigated just a handful and often arrived at the scene late, when the trail had gone cold. The Commission is on the brink of letting grave misconduct go uninvestigated."

The watchdog should have a statutory power to force implementation of its findings, the committee said.

In the most serious cases it should instigate a "year on review" to ensure that its recommendations have been properly carried out, the MPs added.

Any failure to do so would result in an investigation by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and the local Police and Crime Commissioner, as a professional conduct matter relating to the chief constable.

The IPCC told the committee that a backlog of appeals had begun to build since the need to make financial savings had obliged it to reduce its complement of temporary staff.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "The Home Affairs Select Committee is right that the IPCC is not strong enough to tackle the problem when policing goes wrong.

"That is why I called for radical reform of police accountability last year, including replacing the IPCC with a new Police Standards Authority."

Scores of police officers including a serving chief constable are being investigated by the IPCC over the Hillsborough disaster.

The deputy chairwoman of the IPCC, Deborah Glass said that "without a shadow of a doubt" the probe would be the biggest investigation carried out into police behaviour in the UK.

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West Coast Mainline Deal: Ministers 'Lied To'

The Transport Department was "irresponsible" over its role in the collapse of the £5bn West Coast Mainline rail contract, a group of MPs has said.

Members of the Transport Committee said the Government department had embarked on an "ambitious, perhaps unachievable" reform in haste, and claimed that ministers and senior officials were lied to.

FirstGroup was told it had won its bid to take over the franchise from Virgin Trains, but the decision was scrapped after the discovery of "significant technical flaws" in the way the procurement was conducted.

Virgin has now been told it can run the service until November 2014, with the fiasco costing taxpayers over £40m.

The mistakes came to light after bidder Virgin Trains, which had run the West Coast Mainline since 1997, launched a legal challenge against the decision.

A Government-commissioned report led by businessman Sam Laidlaw last month gave a damning indictment of how the competition was handled.

Three members of staff at the DfT were suspended over the episode.

Mistakes came to light after a Virgin legal challenge

The Transport Committee said in its report today: "A more direct description of what happened is that ministers and senior officials were lied to about how the outcome of the franchise competition had been reached.

"We cannot categorically rule out the possibility that officials manipulated the outcome of the competition not only to keep First Group in the running for as long as possible, as Mr Laidlaw suggested, but to ensure that First got the contract.

"We recommend that the DfT find a way of undertaking a full email capture, reporting to someone suitably independent, to help get to the bottom of why DfT staff discriminated against Virgin and in favour of First Group during the franchise competition."

Louise Ellman, chair of the committee, added: "We also want to hear from the Secretary of State what lessons he thinks current and future ministers must learn from this episode where policy ambition exceeded his department's capability and resources."

A DfT spokesman said: "We are putting in place measures that will prevent this embarrassing episode from happening again and the Secretary of State has given an undertaking to keep Parliament updated on costs.

"While we are currently working to minimise the impact on the taxpayer, we estimate the failure of the competition and subsequent independent inquiries is around £48m."

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Banks Face Up To Hefty New Mis-Selling Bill

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The City regulator will pave the way for Britain's big banks to pay out billions of pounds in compensation over the industry's latest mis-selling scandal.

I have learnt that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is to set out a revised framework for small business customers (SMEs) to pursue redress for the mis-selling of interest rate hedging products, which were designed to provide insurance against steep rate rises.

Sources said that a crucial element of the FSA announcement would relate to a change in the definition of "sophisticated" customers, or those who would not be eligible to pursue compensation.

The new regime to be outlined by the FSA will alter the bracket of SMEs which will be eligible for compensation by increasing a £6.5m turnover threshold, according to people briefed on the details.

The changes will be an admission that the criteria used during a pilot scheme that ended recently failed to meet the needs of businesses which required the regulator's help.

The methodology was being thrashed out on Wednesday during talks between the FSA and Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, which between them accounted for the overwhelming majority of interest rate hedging product sales.

However, people close to the situation said a deal would be announced at 7am. A number of other banks which participated in the pilot programme are also likely to sign up to the new terms in the near future.

The new framework follows a seven-month pilot scheme involving a small sample of SMEs whose cases had been scrutinised by the banks with the oversight of an independent reviewer. Those reviewers will continue in their roles, potentially racking up huge fees for a small number of accounting and law firms.

Last June, the FSA announced that it had found widespread evidence of mis-selling of products such as swaps, which enabled customers to "fix" interest rates, and collars, which allowed them to limit interest rate fluctuations within a defined range.

"The greatest volumes were sold in the period 2005-2008, before the base rate fell sharply to its current, sustained, historic low," the FSA said in June.

Many SMEs have complained that they were left facing bills of tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds because of these products.

The major banks have argued that while there were limited cases of mis-selling, most customers understood the risks inherent in hedging products and should not be compensated for costs triggered by the wider financial crisis' impact on interest rates rather than any venality on the part of lenders.

The four banks have now, though, agreed on a set of standards for reviewing thousands more swaps cases during a six-to-twelve month period.

Crucially, the wording of the FSA statement is expected to include a stipulation that the banks will be held liable for "consequential losses" incurred by customers who were mis-sold the hedging products.

While legally difficult to prove, it would mean that SMEs will have the opportunity to pursue significant damages from banks where they can establish that they lost out financially because their capital was wrongly deployed paying for the cost of the swaps.

Further details of the agreement will be announced in the FSA statement.

The FSA and the banks all declined to comment.

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OFT Fuel Price Probe Findings To Be Released

By Poppy Trowbridge, Business & Economics Correspondent

The Office of Fair Trading today releases its findings on the state of Britain's £32bn retail fuel market.

The regulator must assess whether serious competition concerns exist within the industry and make a call on whether to launch a full-blown investigation.

Brian Madderson, chairman of the Retail Motor Industry Federation's (RMI) petrol division, said: "It's not transparent at all.

"They must make a full-market study under the Competition Act so that we can see exactly how this market is working."

Motorists see prices at the pump rise rapidly when markets surge.

But there is concern that, when markets move lower, oil and gas companies are not passing on savings to retailers and motorists as quickly as they could.

This prompted the Government to call upon regulators late last year to take up the issue.

The last time the OFT conducted an enquiry into the UK retail fuel market was in 1998.

According to the RMI, the UK wholesale price of petrol has gone up by more than 7p per litre since Christmas.

Around 1.5p of that rise is because the pound has not performed well since. But the RMI says motorists have still been left to face an increase of 5.5p per litre in the space of a just a few weeks.

Asked whether fuel prices were fixed or fair, Malcolm Graham-Wood, oil analyst at VSA Capital Limited, said: "It's an efficient market working as it should do.

"What you are doing in the petrol price at the pump is seeing a reflection of what the oil price was a few months ago, in the last few months it hasn't changed very much."

Projecting how prices might perform in the year to come, he added: "I think the oil price will be relatively stable and I don't see the currency changing very much either. Accordingly, I would have thought the petrol price would be down, not up."

Any investigation that did result in changes to the current system will certainly have consequences for consumers.

But, with Britain's retail fuel market worth around £32bn, it would also have an impact on businesses and the economy as a whole.

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Fast-Track Reforms For Senior Police Positions

The Home Secretary is expected to unveil a shake-up of police recruitment that will allow new starters to escape the compulsory two years on the beat.

Under current rules all police must enter at constable rank, but the proposals to be unveiled by Theresa May later are understood to include direct entry at superintendent level.

Ms May is also believed to be planning to change the law so foreign police chiefs will be able to run British forces for the first time.

The overhaul is part of a package of reforms that were drawn up by ex-rail regulator Tom Winsor in the most wide-ranging review of police pay and conditions in more than 30 years.

Under his proposals, "exceptional" applicants would have the chance to rise from civilian to inspector in just three years.

Successful businessmen and women, along with members of the armed forces and the security services, should all be encouraged to apply to the fast-track scheme, Mr Winsor said.

Tom Winsor's police reforms have proved to be controversial

Mr Winsor, who is now Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary, previously said he wanted to end the notion of policing as an intellectually undemanding occupation.

He added that the "brightest and best" applicants with skills "distinctly above those of factory workers" were needed.

Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe told a policing conference earlier this month that it was time to "consider and support" direct entry.

He added that he would like to see one in 10 senior officers recruited from outside the police force.

In addition, a proposal to allow candidates from the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, among others, to front up forces in England and Wales is expected.

US supercop Bill Bratton was ruled ineligible to take over the Met Police

Current legislation prevented US "supercop" Bill Bratton, former head of the New York police, applying to take charge of the Metropolitan Police in 2011.

Mr Bratton gained a reputation for introducing bold measures to reduce crime, heading police departments in New York, Boston and Los Angeles.

In his first two years at the helm of New York Police Department, reports of serious crime dropped 27%.

But Mrs May dashed any chances of him becoming Britain's top police officer when she underlined the importance of the Scotland Yard commissioner being a British citizen for national security reasons.

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Report: Youth Joblessness Rises Fastest In UK

Youth unemployment has increased in the UK at a faster rate than any other country in the G8 since the start of the recession, a new report has said.

A study by the Work Foundation found that the UK now lags only behind Spain and Greece for youth joblessness in OECD countries.

The problem cannot be attributed just to the recession because other countries have fared better, the research group said.

The Government was urged to follow the lead of countries like Germany and Denmark by taking measures including more apprenticeships and increased training.

Lizzie Crowley, the report's author, said: "In many other developed nations, youth unemployment has remained low despite the global downturn.

"However, in the UK youth unemployment as a proportion of 15 to 24-year-olds has increased at a faster rate over the course of the recession than both the European and OECD averages.

"While the reasons for this are complex, it's clear that the UK can learn from the experiences of those countries that have fared much better in terms of youth unemployment.

"The Government should focus on those policies that have been shown to work, cherry-picking the best responses from other countries and adapting them to the needs of the UK labour market."

Unemployment for people aged 15 to 24 had increased in the UK by 35% to 916,000 between 2008 and 2011.

That compares to an average of 15% in the other G8 countries Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

Germany, Russia and Japan had seen a reduction in youth unemployment in the same period.

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Sugary Drink Tax 'Could Pay For School Meals'

Sugary drinks should be taxed at up to 20p a litre, say health campaigners – with the proceeds helping to pay for free school meals.

Food and farming charity Sustain said the Government could raise £1bn a year from the duty, while also saving lives by cutting excessive consumption of unhealthy drinks.

The report has been backed by more than 60 organisations, including the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, Friends of the Earth, the National Heart Forum and the Royal Society for Public Health.

Diet-related illness is now costing the NHS £6bn every year, said the report.

Sustain urged Chancellor George Osborne to introduce the duty in his March 20 Budget and to channel most of the cash raised into a Children's Future Fund for programmes to improve children's health.

Money could be spent on campaigns to encourage youngsters to eat more fruit and vegetables, the report said.

The group's campaigns manager, Charlie Powell, said: "Sugar-laden drinks are mini-health time bombs, contributing to dental diseases, obesity and a host of life-threatening illnesses which cost the NHS billions each year.

"We are delighted that so many organisations want to challenge the Government to show it has a public health backbone by including a sugary drinks duty in Budget 2013.

"It's a simple and easy-to-understand measure which will help save lives by reducing sugar in our diets and raising much-needed money to protect children's health."

Sustain chairman Mike Rayner, of Oxford University's Department of Public Health, added: "Just as we use fiscal measures to discourage drinking and smoking and help prevent people from dying early, there is now lots of evidence that the same approach would work for food.

"Our obesity epidemic causes debilitating illness, life-threatening diseases and misery for millions of people. It is high time Government did something effective about this problem."

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Dock Master Saves Baby From Icy Waters

A dock master has rescued a six-month-old baby after his buggy was blown into freezing cold waters by strong winds.

The infant, who was strapped in the buggy, was swept into the water as his mother walked along Watchet Harbour, Somerset, at 8am.

After hearing screams for help George Reeder, 63, initially thought a dog had fallen in but was horrified to see the pushchair upturned in the water.

He dived in and pulled the pushchair to the wall, before a member of the public helped attach a rope and hauled it to dry land - but not before the baby had spent around five minutes in the water.

The baby was revived by a passerby who administered CPR, before being taken to hospital, where he is believed to be out of intensive care.

The Coastguard and an ambulance arrived at the scene

Mr Reeder, who has worked at the marina for 11 years, said he heard screaming from a couple of hundred yards away before jumping on his bike to see what had happened.

He added: "I don't know exactly how he went in, but I was on the esplanade and heard the commotion and I assumed somebody's dog had gone into the water, so I went cycling over.

"They were on the West Pier, where you walk up to the lighthouse, some way away, but the noise travels and I could hear screaming from a woman.

"The mother was there and she said 'my baby has gone in the water', so I went to the edge and I could see the pushchair upside down, floating away.

"I just jumped in and pulled the pushchair back over to the edge of the quay, and then somebody put a rope down over and I tied it on and they lifted it out.

"As far as I know, what the police told me was that the wind blew the buggy in."

The dramatic rescue happened at Watchet in Somerset

Mr Reeder said it was "amazing" that the baby survived, adding: "The baby was still in the pushchair, it was very cold, it is amazing really because he must have been in there for a good five minutes, under the water.

"They pulled up the pushchair and a lady started doing CPR, and then the coastguard came, and the ambulance and the police, so I backed out the way."

A local member of the coastguard took over the CPR from the woman and Mr Reeder said the baby started to take in breaths.

He said: "You could his little mouth opening and taking in a breath and that's when I thought it's ok, he's going to be ok.

"I know the family and the granddad came over and said he's out of intensive care now and on the ward.

"The poor mother, she'll probably never get over something like that, it's your worst nightmare."

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: "Police were called to the harbour in Watchet at 8.17am this morning to reports of a baby in the water.

"It is believed a gust of wind blew the buggy with the child in it into the water," he said.

"A local fisherman rescued the six month old boy and he was airlifted to hospital for treatment.

"The condition of the baby is believed to be no longer life-threatening."

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Teenager Dies After Being Stabbed In Pimlico

A teenager has died after being stabbed in Pimlico, central London on Sunday, said police.

Officers were called to Lupus Street at 6.50pm where they found a youngster who had been stabbed.

The victim is believed to be 16 but this has not been confirmed. He was taken to a south London hospital but died from his injuries at 8.45pm.

No arrests have been made so far. Police are keeping an "open mind" as to the motive.

A murder investigation has now been launched.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: "We must retain an open mind re the circumstances of the incident and any motive at this early stage."

Anyone with any information can call police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Payday Loan Sites' Dirty Tricks To Boost Traffic

By Jason Farrell, Sky Correspondent

A Sky News investigation has found that some payday loan brokers have benefitted from hacking into websites to divert the history and status of a legitimate business to their domain.

This increases their ranking on Google, and the tactic has given unregulated brokers access to online traffic worth millions of pounds.

The findings come as the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) prepares its report into dirty tricks in the market, due to be published in February.

Every month, tens of thousands of potential customers use Google to search for payday loans.

The search engine has a complex algorithm based on a website's history and credibility which tries to ensure that users are directed to the most appropriate websites.

However, Google's natural listings system can be tricked. Sky News found three payday websites that were stealing the credibility of other websites to boost their ranking. The target victim sites included a music business, a graduate website and even a church website.

In November last year, Sky News discovered established music licencing website Ricordi was one of several domains that began ranking highly for selling payday loans on the front pages of Google. Clicking on the link diverted the user to a payday broker's site.

Dr Joseph Somerhalder says brokers have been 'stealing identities'

Web analyst Dr Joseph Somerhalder from search optimisation company Chillicow explained what was happening.

He told Sky News: "They hack into the website. They optimise the website for something that it is not about such as payday loans. Then they wait for the right moment, and then they forward all the history and all the credibility from the old website, the legitimate business, into the illegitimate business."

He added: "It's a bit like stealing your identity online. They take the website's identity and history and they point it somewhere else."

Ricordi is owned by Universal Music Group. A spokesperson for the company said: "We recently discovered the unauthorised access to our Ricordi UK website. UMG takes the protection of its sites very seriously and has implemented measures to prevent a recurrence of this type of event."

But other companies may not be aware of the hacking. Using web analysis software, we found that over 10,000 websites have been compromised by this technique on one server alone.

Sky News spoke to the owners of UK graduate website Gradfunding which was also in the process of being hijacked.

Dr Luke Blaxill, director of the website, said he was also trying to deal with the problem.

"To get rid of this we are going to have to rewrite every bit of code on the website and transfer it to a new server."

The payday loan intrusion meant his company was starting to fall down the listings for its own business operations and it could lose years of building up an online reputation.

Dr Blaxill said: "It has taken years for us to get to the position that we are in this particular market and for that effectively to be almost rewritten overnight by a scammer, is a real problem."

Gradfunding was among the target victim websites

Raiham Islam from Jar Applications, which fixed the problem for Gradfunding, told Sky News: "What they did was inject a malicious code into the web server, and the files trick Google by the method of cloaking.

"They then bomb the site with payday loan links to increase its ranking for payday loans and redirect the traffic to their scam website. That's when the hacker starts making money."

During the investigation we found church website Canada had been hacked for this purpose. We also discovered 21,000 payday loan links had been pointed at a Bonsai society website.

There are concerns these tactics leave UK loan customers exposed to unscrupulous, unregulated brokers.

Over the last two months Sky News conducted test searches on Google for payday loans which produced websites high in the natural listings that were in breach of OFT regulations.

Several had no consumer credit licence, a requirement for any loan broker and lead generator.

Some websites claimed to be 100% secure, but actually had no data protection when customers entered their bank details. This exposes customers to fraud and identity theft.

We also found many websites broke legal requirements on transparency to customers, such as failing to prominently display a representative APR or an address where the company can be contacted.

Sky News found three payday websites involved in dirty tricks

Some legitimate lenders in the industry have told us they are aware of the problem. Many of them advertise on Google's pay per-click service as an alternative to the natural listings.

One lender who did not want to be identified suggested the price of Google's sponsored links have gone up because demand has increased with legitimate companies struggling to get on the natural listings.

"Google could solve this problem by tightening up their algorithm" he suggested. "But they have no incentive to do so. We're all having to use the sponsored listings to get any traffic to our websites."

He added: "But customers don't realise that some companies on the natural listings don't have a consumer credit licence, which means they don't have to tell the customer how much they're going to pay back, which feeds into some of the problems we're seeing at the moment of customers not able to pay back their loans."

Google says its key motivation is to try to direct customers to the best websites.

A spokesman told Sky News: "As part of our on-going effort to reduce webspam and return high-quality websites to our users, we are constantly improving our search algorithm to better detect and decrease rankings for sites that we believe are violating Google's quality guidelines and engaging in webspam tactics to manipulate search engine rankings."

For legal reasons we are not naming the websites linked to hacking but we have passed our evidence to the OFT, which told us: "The OFT is clear regarding the standards it expects from those businesses that it regulates and has publicised an extensive suite of guidance documents. We take very seriously any evidence tending to show that businesses are not meeting the standards set out in our guidance.

"The guidance for credit brokers and intermediaries states that creditors should satisfy themselves that persons they deal with are appropriately licenced. Accepting leads from unlicensed sources would raise concerns about a lender's fitness to hold a consumer credit licence."

At one point during our investigation we found the highest ranking website on Google was a four-day-old domain registered to a field in California.

Just a few days in this position can earn the web owner tens of thousands of pounds. Yet this site was in breach of several regulations and displayed nothing on the website to suggest it was licenced to sell loans in the UK.

Last November, the OFT opened formal investigations into the tactics used by an number of payday lenders. But if the regulator wants to properly police the market, it seems it is going to have to work with Google.

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Childcare Better In Wealthy Areas, Report Says

By Siobhan Robbins, Sky Reporter

Children from wealthier areas receive a better standard of childcare, according to a new report.

Research by Policy Exchange showed Ofsted judged 79% of childminders in the richest parts of England as good or outstanding, compared to 64% in the most deprived areas of the country.

It also found that children from richer areas were further ahead when they started primary school.

In the City of London and Trafford 78% were at a good level, compared to just 51% in Middlesbrough at the bottom of the list.

The vocabulary development of the poorest children was 16 months behind those from the highest income families, the report said.

Harriet Waldegrave, the author of the report said: "Early years education will only have a positive impact on a child's development if it is of a high quality.

"While provision is improving, it's not doing so fast enough. Most worryingly of all, lower quality provision in disadvantaged areas means positive effects of early years education are less likely to be seen for the children who need it most."

The government is now being asked to improve the quality of early years teaching and the financial support it gives to families with lower incomes.

In response, a Department for Education spokesperson said: "This report is absolutely right to say early years education needs to improve.

"We need to learn from other countries that ensure the profession is better trained and give them the freedom to do their job. We will be announcing plans on improving the quality of provision shortly."

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