Mobile phone giant Orange has sacked up to 40 workers after an internal investigation revealed they were downloading pornography from the internet.

All those dismissed were based at offices in Hertford and call centres in the North East of England.

A spokesperson for Orange said: "I can confirm that a number of employees have been dismissed in accordance with company disciplinary procedures as a result of an investigation into the circulation of inappropriate material on company IT systems."

'Strictly prohibited'

"Orange company policy states that the creation or exchange of messages or attachments that are offensive, obscene, racist, sexist, threatening or libellous is strictly prohibited," the spokesperson added.

Orange, which is owned by France Telecom, has more than 7,000 employees and almost eight million customers in the UK.

The spokesperson added that all Orange employees were aware of the company's regulations regarding offensive material.

The police were not involved in the investigation.