A MAN has been arrested and computer equipment seized following an operation to uncover Internet paedophiles.

The suspect, from North Tyneside, was arrested in the early hours of yesterday as part of a national campaign, led by Greater Manchester Police.

He is helping Northumbria detectives with their inquiries.

Also involved in the operation was the Cleveland force, which carried out raids at two addresses, in Middlesbrough and Stockton.

Officers seized computer hard drives and disks from both homes and are examining them, although no arrests have been made.

The swoops were part of an operation involving 25 police forces in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, and 45 homes.

They followed a three-month investigation by Manchester police's obscene publications unit, and were the latest in a series of crackdowns on suspected Internet paedophile rings.

In 1998, several raids were carried out as part of Operation Cathedral, the largest ever international operation, coordinated by the National Crime Squad, in London.

It involved officers identifying babies as young as three months after images were seized in the UK and abroad, and resulted in several prosecutions last year.

New powers which allow high-ranking police investigators to read e-mail messages that have been sent in the UK are aimed at tackling cyberspace crimes.