1901 Census comeback delayed indefinitely

The 1901 census website is to miss its April re-launch because tests show the site is still not strong enough to cope with anticipated demand.

The site had originally expected to attract 1.2 million visitors a day, eager to search for ancestors among the archived records of 32 million people living in England and Wales in 1901.

But the site crashed in January after receiving over one million hits per hour in its first two days of operation.

The Public Record Office was due to unveil a revamped version this month but has now said there is no finalised date for a re-launch.

The PRO has spent £1.2m on the site since development began in 1998, but has assured taxpayers they will not pay the redevelopment costs.