Dear Parents/Carers,

We would like to share some important information that has been sent to all schools by Hertfordshire County Council regarding certain children’s books authored by Andy Cope, including the Spy Dogs, Spy Cats, and Spy Pup series.

Puffin Books has issued an alert after discovering that some of these titles contain a web link encouraging children to visit the author’s website for additional story content. Unfortunately, the domain is no longer owned by Andy Cope and is now operated by a third party publishing pornographic material.

Please be reassured that the stories themselves remain suitable for children to read, and neither Puffin nor Mr Cope are responsible for this content. However, if a child follows the printed link, they could be exposed to highly inappropriate material online.

Following Hertfordshire County Council’s advice:

• The school has removed these books from our library and classrooms until further notice.
• We kindly ask parents to check at home for any titles by Andy Cope, particularly those in the Spy Dogs, Spy Cats, or Spy Pup series, and ensure that children do not access any links printed within them.
• If your child has borrowed one of these books from school, please return it as soon as possible.

Puffin has temporarily paused sales of the affected titles, and libraries and retailers have withdrawn them from circulation.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in helping us keep all children safe online. We will continue to share updates from Hertfordshire County Council as they become available.