Spammer time

I was puzzled to see the quiet Hampshire market town of Alton recently crowned as the UK's spam capital.

Figures compiled by security vendor MessageLabs reveal businesses in the town are sent an average of about 400 spam emails per user per day. Curiously, just 20 miles from this godforsaken dystopia, Fareham, also in Hampshire, is the UK's least spammed town.

I was shocked to see my home borough featured in the shape of Barking, which is the UK's sixth biggest spam hotspot. I contend there's a difference between a nuisance email and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pick up a batch of factory seconds routers at a rock-bottom price.