POLICE in Devon and Cornwall are more clued up about tackling eBay fraud than other forces in the UK, figures have revealed.

The two counties' constabulary can boast 301 officers who have undergone special training to sharpen their investigative wits in dealing with the crime.

eBay has released a table which puts South West bobbies at the top of the table for completing a year-long training programme run by the Fraud Investigation Team attached to the UK's biggest online marketplace.

The Met came second with 286 officers undergoing the business' 20 training sessions.

eBay says the scheme has led to a 'significant reduction' in the number of people having a bad experience on its site after 2,245 police and trading standards officers attended the courses.

The programme illustrated how the eBay site can be used as an investigative tool, generating valuable evidence to build cases against online criminals. It is estimated 178,000 people earn a primary or secondary living, or run a business, on the site.

Richard Ambrose, head of trust and safety for eBay UK, said: "Trust is the engine of eBay, and with 15 million people in the UK visiting our site each month we have a duty to make it as safe and secure as possible."

The eBay team trained officers on how to use the site to assist their investigations and how to ensure anyone attempting to use the site for illegal purposes could be caught and prosecuted.