A lot of older people are intimidated by computers and the internet, it has been stated.

Managing director of UK Online Centres Helen Milner compared learning the ropes on a computer to taking driving lessons, adding that family members are happy to pass on old computers to their parents but are less able to qualify as good teachers of computing.

She said: "A lot of people say they do not want to break the internet or the computer to explode by pressing the wrong button."

Ms Milner added that many older people share fears "about fraud and identity theft" and are unaware of the help available to make the situation be of little concern.

However, recent research carried out by Alliance & Leicester found that nearly three-fifths of over 50s used the internet to keep on top of their money.

Additionally, over half were conscious of security and would only buy goods from a legitimate and safe website.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent)