An unnamed 17-year-old clerk who was given his marching orders from UK insurance company Domestic & General responded by bombarding his former employers with 5m emails, the Sun reports.

The youth was sacked for failing to fill in a time sheet and promptly downloaded an email "bomber" which he used to unleash the tsunami over a three-day period. Domestic & General had to shut down its website and reportedly lost £18,000 as the a result of the teen's alleged attack.

The youth said: "All the emails were harmless - just classic lines from films. I only had to pay for my internet connection. Everything else was free. I just wanted to cause them a bit of inconvenience."

The lad now faces a bit of inconvenience of his own after having his collar felt by Scotland Yard’s computer crime unit under the Computer Misuse Act. He was released on police bail after been questioned over offences punishable by up to six months' jail or a maximum penalty of £5,000 if convicted. ®

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