A DATING site has suggested that the number of people having an affair in Barrow is 436 - up 50 from the previous year.

Data published by IllicitEncounters has put the rise down to issues in lockdown, with a woman from the organisation saying the pandemic has amplified issues ' tenfold.'

The data ranks Barrow at 226 in the country with 1.1464 per cent believed to be cheating on their partner.

The Infidelity Index uses data from over one million postcodes to show how many people are having affairs in each area.

The results are based solely on the data from IllicitEncounters.com and are therefore only a reflection. As the overall data is only 3 per cent of the total adult population having relationships.

The Major Towns Index shows the towns in order of most illicit. The percentages shown represent our data against that of the population of that town therefore giving it an accurate ranking against other towns. IllicitEncounters.com sex and relationships expert, Jessica Leoni explained how the numbers of affairs and the issues in relationships have been amplified by the Covid-10 lockdown.

She explained: “Couples who probably wouldn’t even have dreamt of breaking up – are now running for the hills.

“If there were any issues before, they’ll have been amplified tenfold during the lockdown. Even the most secure relationships will have felt torturous at times. “Those who have decided to stay together, and sought out an affair instead, may just be able to save their marriages before it’s too late.”

The website has seen a 23 per cent increase of members changing their status from married to separated between the months of May and July compared to the same time last year.

Much of this has been put down to the strains of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A further 800 members of the website were surveyed.

Out of those 800 people a staggering 71 per cent of those agree they are less happy in their relationship as a direct result of coronavirus, suggesting that marriages have become toxic and unbearable in the lockdown.