Council systems saved from threat

Staff were warned that the system could have been down for months

Technicians have been investigating a major fault which has threatened computer systems at Fife council.

Staff have been told that emergency shutdowns had to be carried out on two occasions over Christmas. An electrical fault is being blamed.

It is understood the system was close to crashing which could have left the authority without a computer network for months with data being at risk.

Fife Council said the system now appears stable and is being monitored.

In an internal memo, an IT advisor warned that: "By carrying out a controlled shutdown we avoided a chaotic situation where some of the older applications and systems may not have been recoverable.

"To replace these systems could take several months and leave council services without computing."

Faulty connection

The first crash happened on 21 December and forced a controlled shutdown of computer and telephone services. Electricians had warned of a potential fire hazard.

Technicians then spent the weekend trying to get the network up and running.

But less than a week later, on 27 December, the fault was detected again prompting computers to be powered down for a second time.

The council has insisted that the threat to data was minimal and that all information is routinely backed up.

Plans have already been put in place to upgrade and replace some of the older computer infrastructures.

Terry Trundley, Fife Council's chief information officer, said: "A faulty electrical connection was the cause of the problem. As this was on the main incoming supply we were unable to move to any back-up source.

"At the moment all the electrics and computer systems seem to be stable and we will be closely monitoring the situation as the whole council returns to work following the holidays."