SAUCY silver surfers in Sidmouth have caused a shock after it was revealed the town spends more time looking at pornography on one of the world’s biggest sex websites than anywhere else in Devon.

The resort, better known for its Regency setting and high proportion of pensioners, was given the new claim to fame this week - leaving representatives ‘astounded’.

Figures released by Pornhub, detailing the online habits of its users, show Sidmouth is even in the top 20 places in the UK when it comes to how long users peruse the site on each visit.

The average duration for those in the town, 10 minutes and 10 seconds, is the highest in Devon – beating places like Torquay, Plymouth, Tiverton Exmouth and Exeter.

This is despite it being among the lowest for the number of visitors to the site.

District councillor Stuart Hughes said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw it – it was a real eye opener!

“What can you say about that? Perhaps they thought they were searching for prawns.”

Town council chairman John Hollick added: “I’m absolutely astounded. Shocked and astounded.

“It won’t have an effect on Sidmouth’s reputation – I don’t think people are that gullible.”

Town clerk Christopher Holland said: “Sidmouth never ceases to amaze me – I find it astounding with the percentage of retired people.

“The only data I normally look at is to do with tourism. It’s not for the town council to comment how individuals spend their time, but the silver surfers clearly have quite a lot of time on their hands.”

The data also shows that Monday is the most common day to look at porn, a trend consistent across the globe, and January is the biggest month for searches.

At nine minutes and 42 seconds, Britons spend almost a full minute longer than the world average, but trail behind Americans who spend almost 11 minutes on each visit.