ALMOST 700 people in Warrington are having an affair as they cannot afford to divorce according to a dating website.

The figures from Illicitencounters.com, a dating site for married people, show that affairs are down nine per cent on last year's total of 765.

An interactive Infidelity Index allows users to search a city, town or postcode to discover how many people are having affairs in that area.

Christian Grant from the site said: "Adultery is down in Warrington but there are still 698 people in the town having an affair – more than many other towns locally.

"Lots of couples in Cheshire and Merseyside cannot afford to divorce due to the cost of establishing two new homes, so they are sticking with their partner and adding some spice to their marriage by discreetly having an affair.

"They know that with a site such as ours they can have an affair with a like-minded partner who is also looking to cheat.

"Both sides can have some fun without upsetting things at home."

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The figures are based on the site's own extensive data on the numbers of Britons cheating.

Since it began 16 years ago, more than one million people have registered with the site and each week about 20,000 people are conducting affairs with its help.