Hotels and restaurants are trying to cheat their way to the top of TripAdvisor amid claims that as many as one in three reviews is fake, The Times can reveal.

Independent analysis of tens of thousands of reviews on the world’s best-known travel website shows that supposedly top-rated bed and breakfast hosts at tourist hotspots have almost twice as many “fake” reviews as lower-ranked accommodation. Two thirds of reviews posted about top B&Bs in some hotspots are thought to be suspect.

An undercover operation by The Times has caught venues trying to buy five-star TripAdvisor reviews — as well as negative reviews of rivals.

The travel website is popular in Britain with more than 50 million visits each month. A top ten position in a