HACKERS seized control of a website used by a trust that runs healthcare services across the county.

The usual site belonging to Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust had disappeared this morning after the overnight attack.

It was replaced by an image of L - a character from the manga series Death Note - and a message reading 'HaCked By Dark_Cloud'. 

By mid-morning the page, which can be found at oxfordhealth.nhs.uk, had returned to normal. No patient data or care was compromised.

Oxford Health provides physical, mental health and social care for people of all ages across Oxfordshire.

Spokesman Lorcan O'Neill said staff were 'looking into' whether it had been a sustained attack or an isolated attempt to gain access.

He added: "There was a cyberattack on our public-facing website overnight. We took immediate steps to rectify this and content has been restored.

"Our teams are looking at how this happened and will take any necessary steps to further improve website security.

"The website is completely separate from our clinical systems which are heavily shielded from inappropriate access and patient data has remained secure throughout.

"Websites in general endure multiple hacking attempts every day and despite this instance, along with lots of others, we are successfully repelling the majority of them."