Millions of BlackBerry smartphone users have been cut off by a major fault at RIM, the Canadian company that makes the devices.

The glitch, which struck at around 11AM, was affecting online services for consumers all over Europe, the Middle East and Africa. All are served by a RIM data centre in Slough.

They have been unable to browse the web or instant messages, or access other internet services such as email.

Read more: telegraph.co.uk