DUNFERMLINE has been revealed as having the highest number of registered users on the Ashley Madison website than anywhere else in Fife.

The adultery website, which encourages users to sign up with the intention of cheating on their partner, hit the headlines in July when it was targeted by hackers who claimed to have stolen the personal details of its 37 million members.

Hacking group Impact Team had threatened to release the data online if the site’s parent company, Avid Life Media, did not close it and its sister site, ‘Established Men’, down after being angered over an alleged failure to completely erase profile data if users paid a $19 fee, and over their alleged use of computer-generated female profiles.

Information released on the dark web revealed that thousands of West Fifers are registered with the website, which carries the tagline of ‘Life is short, have an affair’.

In Dunfermline alone, a total of 1508 people – with 1395 of those male – have been found to be members of the site, despite the potential risk it poses to their relationships and health.

Figures show that 5892 Fifers – including 5443 men – are linked to Ashley Madison, and the top 10 places with registered users including Inverkeithing and Kelty.

A table of the top 10 towns that are home to registered users in the Kingdom, Inverkeithing is in ninth spot with 115 while Kelty has 85. In each case, men overwhelmingly outnumber females linked to the site, with just eight and four women in Inverkeithing and Kelty respectively revealed to be members.

The data includes email addresses of accounts that were never activated, meaning that people who had their email address entered into the website by another could find themselves on the list.

As well as email addresses and locations, data obtained by the hackers also includes credit card details and sexual preferences.