Puffin, the children's publisher, has issued an urgent alert to UK schools and local authorities after discovering that a website address printed in the popular Spy Dog series by Andrew Cope has been hijacked by a pornography site. The publisher has urged school libraries to remove the books, which are aimed at children aged seven to 12, and has paused sales of affected editions.
The website address, which appears on the back or inside pages of some editions of the Spy Dog, Spy Pups and Spy Cat series, was originally intended to provide readers with more information about the characters. However, an unconnected third party has recently taken control of the domain name and redirected it to adult content with no age verification.
A number of schools in England have reported receiving emails alerting them to the danger. One school in West Sussex wrote to parents, warning that the link now leads to a pornographic website with inappropriate material featuring children's characters. Hampshire's school library service also sent out a warning to families about the unsafe material.
In a joint statement, Andrew Cope and Puffin said they were taking the issue extremely seriously and were working through legal channels to have the website removed. They emphasised that the website is not associated with the publisher or the author. The sale and distribution of the affected books have been paused while the matter is resolved.
The Spy Dog series, first published in 2005, follows the adventures of Lara, a dog trained by the secret service. The series has since expanded to include Spy Pups and Spy Cat spin-offs, with the last titles released in 2015.
