WIRRAL Council has apologised after it was found to be following a sexually-explicit account on Twitter.

An investigation has been launched after a social media user contacted the authority on Monday to ask why it was following the account – which contains several graphic images appearing to have been posted by a South African couple.

The council, which is no longer following the account, said it is taking the issue “very seriously” and will get to the bottom of how it came to be on their list of followers.

An internal investigation is now underway and members of staff that have access to the account – believed to be around 15 – will be spoken to.

A spokesman for the council said: “Clearly, Wirral Council would never intentionally follow such an inappropriate and unpleasant Twitter feed and we would like to apologise to anyone who may have viewed this offensive material as a result of it appearing on Wirral Council’s list of followers

“We are taking this issue very seriously and investigating whether there has been a breach of procedure or a breach of account security.”