Thousands of women in Sussex who asked for advice on abortion could have had their details stolen by a computer hacker.

Women across the county have been advised not to panic after an anti-abortion campaigner got into the website of the country’s biggest abortion provider and accessed confidential details.

The website of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), which has a clinic in Brighton and consultation centres in Eastbourne and Hastings, had 26,000 attempts to break into it over six hours on Thursday.

No medical or personal information relating to women who had received treatment was accessed.

However, the company was forced to take out a court injunction after details of people who had requested information via the website were compromised.

Sussex’s three BPAS sites get around 230 visits a week but thousands more women across the county have asked for advice and information through the company’s website.

The alleged hacker, a 27-year-old who claimed to have links to Hacktivist group Anonymous, had threatened to publish details of people who had used BPAS’s services.

He said he had details of women who had undergone abortions but this was later dismissed by police and BPAS.

The hacker was arrested during the early hours of Friday morning on suspicion of offences under the Computer Misuse Act.

The Brighton clinic in Dyke Road is the scene of regular weekly demonstrations by anti-abortion group Abort67.

A spokesman for the group yesterday condemned the hacking, saying exposing the details of women was not productive.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police's Central e-Crime Unit searched an address in the West Midlands before the arrest.

Police later said the stolen data did not contain the medical details of any women who had received treatment.

BPAS provides counselling for unplanned pregnancy and abortion treatment and gives advice about contraception, sexually transmitted infection testing and sterilisation.

BPAS said in a statement: “Our website does store the details of people who have requested information, including those making personal inquiries as well as health and education professionals, the media and students.

"These may have been inquiries relating to contraception, pregnancy, abortion, STI testing and sterilisation.

“Relevant authorities were informed and appropriate legal action taken to prevent the dissemination of any information obtained from the website.

"While the confidentiality of women receiving treatment was never in danger, this episode was taken very seriously indeed.”