A number of school children have been questioned by detectives about an alleged Internet fraud involving thousands of pounds and access to secret computer data.

The teenagers at a school in Shropshire, England, where the investigation centres, also set up a dating agency listing their fellow students' names and addresses without their permission, it was revealed.

The headmaster of the Wakeman School in Shrewsbury, Mr Peter Traves, confirmed he had been contacted by detectives and pupils had been questioned.

Police said an investigation into the alleged fraud was launched in April and "several" children had been interviewed.

A number of other pupils are due to be interviewed by police as the investigation continues.

Det Sgt Jim Tozer of Shrewsbury CID said: "This is a very complex investigation and we are at a very early stage at the moment.

"However we can say that we are investigating a fraud involving a large amount of money and access to information under the Data Protection Act."

It is understood there will not be a criminal investigation into the dating agency Website.

Mr Traves said: "I can confirm that allegations have been made and that we are working closely with the police.

"There are two strands to this. One is that the children set up a dating agency using a number of children's names and addresses they got via a commercial package.

"The dating agency had details of both boys and girls in one year. The pupils were horrified when they found out they were on this list - the Website has now been closed down.

The second strand was a criminal investigation into a form of computer fraud. Mr Traves said the pupils' activities were not connected with school computer equipment.