The amount of junk mail being received by businesses and individuals has dropped by 75% after the closure of one company.

Two internet service providers closed web-hosting service McColo.com after noticing the large amount of junk mail being sent out through the site.

Online security firms have already reported a three-quarters drop in the amount of spam being received around the world.

The web-hosting service did not send out spam itself but was used by some of the world's largest cyber-criminal gangs.

Junk mail accounts for around 90% of the world's emails and dealing with spam can be time-consuming for small firms.