Internet streaming services such as Spotify and Netflix have resulted in online piracy falling to its lowest rate in years, an official report claims.

Research commissioned by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), which is tasked with fighting copyright infringement, found that 15pc of internet users illegally accessed films, music and other material between March and May.

This is down from 18pc a year ago and was the lowest recorded rate in the five years the study has been carried out.

Meanwhile, 44pc of internet users are using exclusively legal means, up from 39pc at the end of 2015. The remaining 31pc did not download or stream any online content in the three-month period. The Minister for Intellectual Property, Baroness Neville Rolfe, said “consumers appear to be turning towards legitimate streaming en masse”.