The bank saw massive queues outside many of its branches this weekend following reports that it had been forced to seek a loan from the Bank of England.

A spokesman for Northern Rock confirmed that there were "exceptionally high" numbers of visitors to its website on Friday and that it had been forced to reboot its system at one point.

"I can confirm that have been exceptionally high levels of usage online during the course of the day and the site became sluggish at times for users. I am informed that at one point during the morning we had to reboot the system. We continue to monitor what level of activity users are able to achieve," the spokesman told Web User.

The website also appears to be struggling this morning, with visitors greeted with a message that reads: "We are currently experiencing high levels of activity on the site, which is intermittently affecting normal operation. We are working on a solution to address this."

The chief executive of Northern Rock, Adam J Applegarth, has posted a message on the bank's website, telling customers that their money is safe.

"Your money is safe with us and if you want some, or all of it back, then you are perfectly entitled to it. Whilst you may have to wait a little longer than usual to receive it, you will get it," the message reads.

An email circulated over the weekend by Martin Lewis, the journalist and TV presenter behind the MoneySavingExpert website, also advised the bank's customers not to panic.

"The most important thing is not to panic. Northern Rock is still solvent, it's got the Bank of England backing it, and the first £35,000 of savings you have with any bank are protected by the official Financial Services Compensation Scheme anyway," the email said.

Recently, online bank Egg went offline when its service provider, Cable & Wireless, suffered network problems.

www.northernrock.co.uk
www.moneysavingexpert.com

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