COUNCIL staff have been ordered to delete personal emails from their work PCs after joke pictures began slowing down vital computer systems.

Blackburn with Darwen Council ordered the purge of personal emails just weeks before new rules governing the release of information to the public - including emails - came into force.

But council bosses said the orders, sent to all staff with computer access, had nothing to do with the new Freedom of Information Act, which came into force on January 1.

They do, however, fear the sheer volume of personal emails being stored, consuming vast quantities of computer memory, would slow down any search for emails relevant to Freedom of Information requests.

Managers of the council's computer systems - which are being linked into one another to enable officers to provide better services rather than sending residents from department to department - have already begun to limit the amount of memory attached to each email account.

And they plan to introduce on-screen reminders to prompt staff not to keep, or send on, joke photos and short movies.

In a memo to staff, officers are told: "Do not keep spams or emails with large attachments such as joke pictures and movies as these are clogging up the council email system unnecessarily.

"It is advisable to avoid keeping personal emails on your account system. Ask your friends to email you to a private account.

"Junk mail or spams left in inboxes are adding to the pressure and staff are being warned to delete files expected to contain inappropriate material and not to forward them on to colleagues.

"Account holders need to be more efficient in sorting their emails and ensure there is enough operable space.

"It is important for technical reasons to ease pressure on the council's server."

Council chief executive Phil Watson said: "The council takes its responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act very seriously.

"Staff have been asked to effectively file work-related emails on shared or personal drives and delete emails which contain inappropriate material such as spams or personal photos.

"The article actually tells staff to consider if they need to produce the email in a Freedom of Information request before deleting it and then gives tips on how to effectively store the email."

Under the terms of Freedom of Information, any member of the public can request information on any issue from public bodies, including emails relating to the issues they requested information on.