An investigation is to be held at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, following at least seven avoidable deaths in less than two years.

Here, some of those parents tell of how they lost their babies.
Kelly Jones was delighted to discover she was expecting twin girls. Already a mother of two girls, the babies would complete her family, she thought.
But she began to feel pain during her pregnancy. Despite repeatedly telling staff at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital about this, and asking them to properly assess her, Kelly was ignored.
At one point she tried to discharge herself because she was so unhappy with the care she was getting.
By the time medics finally took her seriously, it was too late. Her twins Ella and Lola were stillborn in September 2014.
A letter from the trust to Kelly says their investigation "shows that both babies had died from severe hypoxic ischemia (oxygen starvation to the brain) contributed to by delay in recognising deterioration in the foetal heart traces and the missed opportunities for earlier delivery".
Kelly said her midwife "came in crying, saying I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry".
"Too late, damage is done - my girls are gone," said Kelly. "Because they couldn't be bothered doing their job."
The trust's letter, dated June 2015, promised that improvements would be made in the monitoring of baby heart rates.
Two months later, Kye Hall died aged just four days.
An inquest into his death found the failure to listen to his heart rate at two critical times prior to delivery contributed to this death at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.
Four months after Kye's death, Graham Scott Holmes-Smith was stillborn at the same hospital. The trust has accepted that with proper monitor of the baby's foetal heart rate, "on the balance of probabilities, baby Graham would have been born alive".
Ten days after Graham's death, in December 2015, also at the Princess Royal Hospital, Ivy Morris was born. Again, staff failed to properly monitor her heart rate, a mistake that was to prove fatal.
While Ivy was born alive, she was in extremely poor condition and died in May 2016 from complications associated with her birth.
An inquest found her "death would have been prevented had appropriate monitoring taken place in the second stage of labour".
"It (the death) should never have happened," said Ivy's mother, Tamsin.
"To hear that this (mistake) has happened before - it's just another blow. I've had an apology from the hospital, and assurances that this won't happen again. And I accept those.
"But other families have had those assurances and those apologies and if those were followed up, in the way that they said that they would, then I would have my daughter."


A female sperm whale stranded on a Cornish beach has died on the shore.

The creature, measuring 40 feet, was discovered on its side in the shallows at Perranporth beach when the tide went out.
Marine specialists said being out of the water for so long would have caused internal injuries and, even if they could refloat her, she would probably not survive.
HM Coastguard were on the scene to manage public safety.


British actor Paul Nicholls has been rescued after being trapped at the bottom of a waterfall in Thailand for three days, his agent has said.

The ex-EastEnders star had motorcycled to the site in Koh Samui before falling, breaking both legs and shattering a knee.
He was unable to use his phone after it broke, but local villagers alerted police to his abandoned motorbike.
The 38-year-old Bolton-born actor's agent said he was "recovering well".
Nicholls will be flown back to the UK next week.
The actor, who played Joe Wicks on the BBC soap in the 1990s, was on holiday in Thailand after finishing filming for the Channel 4 series Ackley Bridge.
After being alerted, police searched records to find out who had rented the bike and found it had been rented to a British tourist called Paul Greenhalgh - Nicholls' real name.
Volunteer rescuers, police, and medics went to search for the actor, and found him several hours after setting off.
Nicholls' first TV appearance was aged 10 in Granada Television show Children's Ward.
His EastEnders character Joe Wicks lived with schizophrenia, and the popular soap was praised for its portrayal of mental health on-screen.
Since EastEnders, Nicholls has appeared in a number of TV shows, including Law and Order UK, Casualty, and Grantchester.
His most recent TV appearance is in Channel 4's Ackley Bridge, where he plays a teacher in a school where British Asian and white British communities merge.


Violence has increased at an "under strain" women's prison, a report has found.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons, which visited Eastwood Park in November, also noted there were three self-inflicted deaths in 2016.
Its report raised concerns over inmates being victimised, and a lack of support for women to find secure accommodation on release.
However, it said it still considered the prison to be "generally safe".
The jail, in South Gloucestershire, was last inspected in 2013. Since then its population has increased by 100 to about 400 inmates.
Chief inspector of prisons Peter Clarke said: "We still considered Eastwood Park to be a well-led... and decent prison, but it was showing signs of being under strain.
"Efforts to understand the recent self-inflicted deaths needed to continue, and urgent action should be taken to address any deficiencies.
"The increase in violence needed to be addressed with renewed vigour, and aspects of the prison's activities and resettlement provision required further work."
Mr Clarke added that Eastwood Park, near near Wotton-under-Edge, was among 10 prisons that would be prioritised to receive extra resources and support.
Inspectors noted that the prison remained "reasonably safe" for most inmates, support for vulnerable women was "generally strong" and issues with drugs were "well managed".
In a statement, the Ministry of Justice said: "Eastwood Park is currently recruiting additional staff for around 20 new posts to introduce new 'dedicated officer' arrangements, which will significantly improve the quality of support that can be provided to women in their care."


A Florida state senator has apologised to his African-American colleagues after insulting them and using a racial slur during a bar-room chat with them.

Miami Republican Frank Artiles spoke on the floor of the Florida Senate on Wednesday, saying "no one deserves to be spoken to like that".
His apology stems from a late-night tirade at the Governors Club, only steps away from the State Capitol.
He berated two black senators during a chat on politics.
"I stand up before all of you, every one of you, and with great humility, I ask for your forgiveness," Mr Artiles said on Wednesday in a nearly four-minute mea culpa.
According to the Miami Herald, the incident began after 22:00 local time on Monday over drinks at the members-only club.
A lawmaker approached Mr Artiles to ask if his objections to a bill she had filed were political payback for her questions about one of his previous bills.
Mr Artiles reportedly used insults and profanity against African-American Senators Audrey Gibson of Jacksonville and Perry Thurston of Fort Lauderdale.
He allegedly referred to Ms Gibson as a "bitch" and a "girl".
According to witnesses, Mr Artiles also said Republican Senate President Joe Negron, who is white, owed his position to "six [racial slur]".
It is unclear who he was referring to because the chamber's black senators are all Democrats, none of whom voted for Mr Negron.
"I owe you an apology," a contrite Mr Artiles told Mr Negron on Wednesday, begging forgiveness for his "crass and juvenile comments".
But Mr Negron said Mr Artiles would be removed from his position as chair of the chair of the Committee on Communications, Energy and Public Utilities.
During Monday night's discussion, Mr Artiles reportedly sought to justify his use of the n-word, insisting he intended a slang pronunciation that he thought was not offensive.
"I'm from Hialeah" he said, according to Sen Gibson, referring to the racially diverse inner-city neighbourhood of Miami.
The Florida Democratic Party has called on Artiles to quit.


Thousands of Argos customers will be refunded by up to £30m, as a result of being overcharged on their store cards.

The company has launched an inquiry into how customers were wrongly charged excess fees for late payments.
The news was announced by the boss of the Home Retail Group, which owns Argos, in a trading update.
Affected customers will be written to in the next few weeks, and are expected to receive up to £100 each in compensation.
The issue was discovered earlier this year, but an initial sum set aside for redress proved insufficient.
"It's not a material number of customers and not a material amount of money per customer," said John Walden, Home Retail's chief executive.
"But for each customer it matters. We will address it and treat customers fairly."
Following a decision by the former Office of Fair Trading in 2006, late payment fees should generally be limited to £12 - with interest chargeable on top.
Home Retail Group is in the process of being taken over by Sainsbury.


Manchester suicide attacker Salman Abedi bought most of the components used to make the bomb himself, police have said.

Many of the bomber's movements and actions were "carried out alone" in the four days prior to the attack, Russ Jackson, head of the North West counter terrorism unit, said.
But police have yet to rule out whether he was part of a wider network.
Three men arrested over the attack were released without charge on Tuesday.
Det Ch Supt Jackson said much of the police investigation had been working through Abedi's last movements.
Officers have examined his movements on CCTV and other interactions he had with people as well as phone calls he made.
"Our enquiries show Abedi himself made most of the purchases of the core [bomb] components and what is becoming apparent is that many of his movements and actions have been carried out alone during the four days from him landing in the country and committing this awful attack," said Det Chief Supt Jackson.
However, it was "vital" that police make sure he is not part of a wider network and there were a "number of things" about this behaviour that were a concern, he added.
Det Ch Supt Jackson said police were keen to find out why Abedi kept going back to the Wilmslow Road area of the city and wanted to find the blue suitcase he used during those trips.
A total of 16 people have been arrested in connection with last Monday's attack. Five have been released without charge while 11 are still in custody.
By Danny Shaw, BBC home affairs correspondent
The police investigation has moved into a different phase, with detectives trying to bring the various strands of information and evidence together to build a case against Salman Abedi's alleged co-conspirators.
Not surprisingly, some of those arrested in the flurry of police activity have been released without further action, and others may follow.
There's a big difference between the "reasonable grounds of suspicion" required to detain someone and the "realistic prospect of conviction" needed to charge them.
What's slightly confusing is that investigators now say they can't "rule out a wider network" whereas last week they spoke with near certainty about Abedi being part of a network.
The impression is there are still gaps in the police's understanding of what happened in the days and weeks before the atrocity.
Every police force in the UK has assisted in some way since the terror attack in Manchester, according to the National Police Chiefs Council.
Twenty-eight forces, as well as the National Crime Agency, have been helping police in Manchester on their investigation and the response to the bombing.
Det Ch Supt Jackson said police have made "huge progress" in the week since the attack but it will "take considerable time before we fully understand what has happened".
Twenty-two people were killed and many injured after the bomber carried out an attack following an Ariana Grande concert.
The singer will be joined by the likes of Coldplay, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Take That at a benefit concert for victims on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Liam Gallagher played his first solo gig in Manchester on Tuesday night, with the proceeds also being donated to the victims of the bombing.
He applauded as heartfelt cries of "Stand up for the 22" rang out from the crowd in reference to those killed.


A number of people were moved from their homes in north Belfast on Saturday night while police examined a "suspicious vehicle" at Plunkett Court.

Police said it was part of an investigation into dissident republican activity.
A number of roads were closed, including part of the Westlink between 21:40 and 22:15 GMT.
Army bomb experts attended the scene and carried out searches. The alert ended shortly after 02:00 GMT.
The car was taken away for further examination and residents were able to return to their homes.
North Queen Street Community Centre had been made available for them during the alert.
"I would like to thank motorists and the local community for their support while we dealt with this situation," Ch Supt Chris Noble said.
"I understand the disruption that this caused to a lot of people and we appreciate the patience and understanding shown by residents as we focussed on ensuring their safety."


The remains of a Belfast youth were being exhumed on Monday as part of a police investigation into his shooting by an experimental British army undercover unit in 1972.

The investigation by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) follows a 2013 investigation by BBC Panorama into the Military Research Force, or MRF.
Daniel Rooney was 18 when he and a friend were shot by MRF soldiers firing from an unmarked car, as the youths stood on a street corner in the St James area of west Belfast.
The army claimed the men were armed. Eyewitnesses dispute this, consistent with forensic tests on Rooney and his friend that suggested neither youth was armed.
Mr Rooney was buried without a post-mortem examination. However, while a medical report recorded a bullet entry wound, there was no mention of an exit wound.
The PSNI want to see if the bullet can be retrieved from Mr Rooney's remains, assuming it was lodged in his body. It may then be possible to determine whether the bullet came from a military weapon.
The year of 1972 was the most violent of the 30-year Northern Ireland conflict. A total of 497 people died, mostly civilians killed in bombings or shot by the Provisional IRA and 151 soldiers and police officers were also killed.
Panorama showed that, between May and September 1972, there were several unprovoked "drive-by" attacks on unarmed civilians by MRF soldiers similar to the one that killed Mr Rooney.
At the time, locals assumed the gunmen were loyalists. One attack is alleged to have been preceded by a friendly wave from the driver before a machine gun protruding from a rear window cut down three unarmed men chatting at a taxi rank.
On this occasion the MRF soldiers were armed with a weapon, commonly used by the IRA, known as the "Chicago grinder".
This was a Thompson sub-machine gun also favoured by the 1920s gangster Al Capone.
Panorama showed how in each disputed shooting, the MRF soldiers claimed they were fired on. Yet there was no independent evidence to show that any of the dead or wounded were armed, or that they provoked the attacks, or even that they were members of the IRA.
Two months after Daniel Rooney was shot, the military top brass decided the MRF was imperilling the army's already damaged reputation. Declassified papers show that a review of the MRF found there was "no provision for detailed command and control". The MRF was wound up after only 14 months.
When Prime Minister Edward Heath was told the MRF was to be replaced with the Special Reconnaissance Unit (SRU), he sent a message to the army emphasising that "special care should be taken" to ensure that the SRU should "operate within the law".
Det Ch Insp Neil McGuinness of the PSNI's Legacy Investigation Branch said: "Every effort has been made to complete" Rooney's exhumation "as sensitively and professionally as possible".
Last year the remains of a father of 12, Joseph Murphy, who was shot by the army in disputed circumstances, were exhumed.
Having been shot once, Mr Murphy was brought to an army base where he claimed a soldier shot him again in the place that he had been previously wounded. He later died in hospital. A bullet was recovered from his grave when his remains were exhumed.


A whale, thought to be a three month old minke whale, has washed up on the Lough Foyle in Myroe near Limavady.

It was discovered by people walking along the beach on Friday.
It was encouraged back into the sea by the Loughs Agency on Friday but it washed up on Tuesday due to its emaciated condition.
The dead whale has been removed from the site by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) and the Loughs Agency.
A spokesperson for the Department of Environment (DOE) said: "We assessed the situation and noted that the animal was an unweaned calf about three months old and apparently separated from its mother.
"The calf was severely malnourished and had suffered extensive injuries during its several standings.
"The animal's carcass has now been removed from the shore by council.
"DOE Marine Division staff have been able to recover some bone material for scientific and educational use.
"Minke whales are the most common whales in Irish waters, with young animals born mid-winter.
"They are not weaned until six months old and remain with the mother for up to three years to learn essential social and foraging skills.
"Despite local enquiries about any link with the pilot whale stranding event in Scotland, this is an isolated incident with no correlation."
Richard Gillen, the countryside officer for Causeway Coast and Glens District Council, said:  "The water is shallow in that part of Myroe so I can see how it happened.
"There are baby whales out there in the water along the north coast, but this one seemed to like the Myroe and Magilligan area.
"It really wouldn't have survived."
A nine-metre (29ft) long minke whale was found dead at Magilligan Point in November 2013.
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group said the minke whale is Ireland's smallest and most commonly-recorded whale species.


They were some of the most recognisable television scenes of recent decades.

Pamela Anderson, in her Baywatch role as lifeguard CJ Parker, would patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, spot a swimmer in distress and spring into action - sprinting across California's golden sands and into the glittering sea.
So quick was her reaction to danger, that viewers needed slow motion to watch their big-bosomed hero bound along, her breasts swinging from side to side, nothing but a red swimsuit to support them.
Not once did her face contort in pain. Never was there any sign of bleeding nipples or sores. This was an all-American woman who did not let her DD cups get in the way of saving lives.
Perhaps it is the memory of CJ Parker's easy grace that makes it so hard to believe the Amazons of ancient Greece, so legend goes, cut off their right breasts to take part in archery.
Likewise it is difficult to comprehend that French sportswoman Violette Morris chose to have a double mastectomy in the 1920s because her breasts "impeded control" of her racing car.
But the reality is that sporty women have always had to endure breast pain, wrap their busts with elastic or double up on everyday brassieres - or at least they had to until the invention, 38 years ago, of the sports bra.
Hinda Miller, the garment's inventor, recalls those difficult days of running without sufficient support. It was a time of bouncing boobs and "lecherous" men.
"We had witnessed bleeding nipples in the first 5km runs that were just starting to be popular in the 1970s," she told BBC Radio 5 live.
"We knew there was something unhealthy. If your breasts bounce it can tear the Cooper ligaments [that maintain the shape and configuration of the breast] and that's not good for breast feeding and other things women do in later life."
Miller and two friends, Lisa Lindahl and Polly Palmer-Smith, set out to solve the problem experienced by women worldwide who were struggling to embrace the rise in popularity of running and fitness in the 1970s. Their light bulb moment? A basket of dirty washing.
When Lindahl's husband grabbed his jock strap from the laundry and wore it across his chest like a bra, the Jockbra, which would later become the Jogbra, was born.
"We said 'wait a minute, that's what we want to do'," recalls Miller. "So we bought two jock straps, used the wide band that goes around a man's waist to go underneath our rib cage.
"We left one pouch on, took another pouch from the second jock strap and sewed it along the band so it looked like two triangles on a wide band.
"Then we took the butt straps, sewed them together, crossed them in the back, no clasps, nothing to dig into the skin, pulled it on over the head and that was the first prototype."
As the 1970s entered its final year the trio were ready to introduce their product to the world, or to a few specialist sports shops at least.
Some shops were said to be squeamish about displaying bras and the first editions were packaged in black boxes to make it easier for bashful men to sell, but the first 40 produced quickly sold out and in the second year sales were worth $500,000.
"A lot of people wanted to sell the Jogbra and we used to give them a test," says Miller.
"If you can say the word nipples and look someone straight in the eye, then you can sell the Jogbra."
But what impact has the invention had? "If I forgot my sports bra, forget it, I just wouldn't compete," says Goldie Sayers, 11-time British javelin champion. "That's how integral it is to my performance."
Every athlete has a pre-competition ritual. Anyone peeking inside Sayers' hotel room before a major event would have found the thrower looking at herself in the mirror, repeatedly bouncing as if on an imaginary pogo stick.
"I'd always have a bounce test to see which bra was the best before going out to compete," explains the 32-year-old. "I'd get my room-mate to help me decide."
The sports bra allowed Britain's most successful gymnast Beth Tweddle to flip, twirl and dazzle with freedom. The three-time world champion could focus on her sport and "not what my body was doing".
For Paralympic equestrian rider Natasha Baker, a fitted sports bra "totally changed" her life. While 19th Century English equestriennes wore special corsets for riding, Baker and her female team-mates can these days compete in comfort.
"You want the whole focus to be on you and your horse," says the 25-year-old. "Constantly worrying that your bra straps are falling down is not helpful.
"I don't think young girls are aware of breast issues. It could be very, very bad for me if I did ride in a normal bra and I wasn't aware of that as a young girl."
Not wearing the right sports bra can damage the breast, cause pain and sagging but, according to research by the University of Portsmouth, the majority of women who exercise do not wear one.
In a questionnaire issued by the university, 46% of 2,000 young girls said their breasts were a barrier to participating in sport.
"There's a need to educate girls and empower them to make the right choices about their breast health, whether that's to do with wearing the correct sports bra or how to choose that sports bra," says Amanda Brasher from the university's Research Group in Breast Health.
Brasher can empathise with those who are self-conscious when exercising, recalling the "mortifying" moment the BBC came to film and take photographs of her as a promising 17-year-old tennis player, arms crossed at the net, cleavage accidentally showing.
"It's something that's etched in my mind," she says. "I think the power of sport is huge and it's shocking so many girls drop out of sport.
"A sports bra should be as important as your shoes and you should replace them as often as you replace your shoes. If we educate and empower women, we would get 100% of them wearing a sports bra."
If there is a need to educate and empower, there is also a need to entice. World marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe says women need to feel good when exercising.
Ten years ago it would have been difficult for women of cup sizes D and above to buy suitable sports bras, but there has since been an "explosion" in the market as manufacturers have grasped the need for good supportive, fashionable sports bras.
"There are a lot more insecurities stopping women taking part in sport than there are for men," says the three-time London Marathon winner.
"A lot of women want to feel comfortable, feel attractive, feel good about themselves when they're doing sports."
Listen again to BBC Radio 5 live's special  Bounce: The story of the sports bra via the iPlayer or download the podcast.


Gary Glitter has appeared in court accused of a series of sex offences against two girls.

The former pop star, 70, has been charged with six counts of indecent assault, one of unlawful sex with a girl under 13 and one count of administering a drug to obtain sex.
He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court under his real name, Paul Gadd.
The offences are alleged to have taken place in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Mr Gadd is to appear at Southwark Crown Court on 3 July.
Judge Emma Arbuthnot bailed him until that date.
Mr Gadd, who listened to the proceedings through a hearing loop, spoke only to confirm his name, age and address.
It's a long time since Gary Glitter's heyday as one of the stars of 'glam rock' in the 1970s.
But more than three decades on he still cut a flamboyant figure in the dock at Westminster Magistrates Court.
Looking healthy and suntanned, he was wearing a linen suit, cream scarf and - much to the concern of the district judge - a pair of sunglasses.
Judge Arbuthnot was assured by the defence lawyer that they were being worn for medical reasons and no disrespect to the court was intended.
The defendant's next appearance will be at Southwark Crown Court on 3 July.
The judge said that appearance must be without the sunglasses.
Dressed in a beige suit, pink shirt and cream scarf and wearing tinted glasses, he spoke clearly and spelled out his surname.
The deputy chief magistrate asked Mr Gadd's defence barrister, Christopher Ware, why he was wearing sunglasses, to which he replied that the defendant had a "medical condition".
Mr Gadd, whose hits include I'm the Leader of the Gang, is accused of "administering a drug, namely alcohol, to obtain intercourse".
He is also accused of one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with an under-age girl and two counts of indecent assault between 1 October 1979 and 31 December 1980 involving the second complainant.


Joey Badass has been charged with assault in an Australian court.

It follows an alleged row with a security guard before a show near Byron Bay on 2 January.
According to a police statement the Brooklyn rapper, 19, was walking towards the stage at The Falls Music and Arts Festival when he was asked to prove his identity.
Badass allegedly punched the 20-year-old guard, breaking his nose, before going on stage to perform his set.
The rapper, whose real name is Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott, was later charged with assault causing bodily harm and spent the night in police custody, the statement added.
He could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison if convicted.
Badass appeared in Lismore Local Court on 3 January and was released on unconditional bail, court official Melissa Everson said.
She added that the rapper would not be required to appear when the charge is next listed in Byron Bay Local Court on 19 March. He is free to fly back to the United States and will be represented in court by a lawyer.
Everson would not say whether the rapper had entered a plea at this stage.
Badass, who is the co-founder of the hip-hop collective Pro Era, is set to play four shows in Australia and New Zealand over the next week.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube


Sacred Paws have won the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) award for their album Strike A Match.

Band members Rachel Aggs and Eilidh Rodgers received the £20,000 first prize at a ceremony in Paisley Town Hall on Wednesday.
Vocalist and guitarist Rachel said the award made the duo "feel validated for what we do".
The award was developed in 2012 by the Scottish Music Industry Association in partnership with Creative Scotland.
This year's event was also supported by Paisley For UK City of Culture 2021.
Previous winners of the first prize include Anna Meredith, Kathryn Joseph, Young Fathers, RM Hubbert and Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat.
Sacred Paws released their debut album, Strike A Match, on 27 January on Glasgow label Rock Action Records.
The duo, based between Glasgow and London, received critical acclaim from the likes of Clash magazine, Pitchfork, Q magazine and DIY magazine.
They took the award ahead of a shortlist which included C Duncan (The Midnight Sun),  Ela Orleans (Circles of Upper And Lower Hell), Honeyblood (Babes Never Die), Konx-om-Pax (Caramel) and Mogwai (Atomic).
The public vote was won by Pictish Trail for their album Future Echoes, which was also shortlisted for the top prize.
Sacred Paws singer Rachel Aggs said: "I just want to say thanks to the SAY Award, thanks to the judges, thanks to everyone at Rock Action. I can't believe it.
"We are not always the most confident people and I think playing music has a lot to do with confidence.
"So this is completely overwhelming and we don't feel like we belong here, but at the same time we feel validated for what we do."
Robert Kilpatrick, of the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), said: "I'd like to say a huge congratulations to Sacred Paws for winning this year's Scottish Album of the Year award.
"Strike A Match is a beautiful, joyful record and a very worthy winner."


Retiring LA Lakers great Kobe Bryant has said he would love to represent the US at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Bryant, 37, regarded as one of the greatest basketball players in history, announced this week he would retire at the end of the NBA season.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist has been hindered by injuries in recent seasons but said he would "love to play" in Rio if fit enough.
"If my body can't do it, there's no sense doing it," he said.
The five-time NBA champion has scored 32,734 points during a 20-year career with the Lakers to rank third on the NBA's all-time list.
Bryant, who won gold with the US team in 2008 and 2012, told ESPN Radio:  "I would love nothing more than to be in an international environment and be around some of the other great athletes one more time."
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Should the Lakers fail to make the end-of-season play-offs, Bryant's final game is set to be at home against Utah on 13 April. The Olympics will be held four months later, between 5-21 August.
He is one of 34 players in the US men's national team pool, from which only 12 can be selected for Rio.
Bryant announced this season would be his last in a poem in the Players Tribune entitled 'Dear Basketball'.
"My body knows it's time to say goodbye," he said. "This season is all I have left to give."


Clegg, Farage or Salmond.
Who do you want to hold the balance of power?
Who do you want to call the shots?
Who should be in a position to hold the next government to ransom?
Nick Clegg posed those questions today.
Coalition was inevitable, he suggested, so the choice was simply between a "coalition of conscience" and a "coalition of grievance" - in other words a Lib Dem coalition with either Labour or the Tories and not a deal between the SNP and Labour or the Tories, UKIP and the DUP.
An hour later Nigel Farage made his alternative pitch for UKIP having a stake in the next government of the UK.
Hold on a second, though. The polls may continue to suggest there'll be no clear winner in three weeks time but coalition is far from inevitable.
That's not only because voters may react against the idea of deals and pacts and vote to give one party that elusive majority.
It's also because it's perfectly possible that the election will produce a minority government in which one party governs alone and not in coalition and seeks not one deal for five years but a series of deals vote-by-Parliamentary vote.
Nick Clegg knows this but he also knows that if there are to be deals all potential partners are not equal. He knows that dealing with him would be much more attractive to David Cameron or Ed Miliband than dealing with Farage or Salmond.
What's more, many voters wrongly wrote the Lib Dems off before this campaign began. Despite the slump in their poll ratings they are likely to be much more significant players in the next Parliament than the new kids on the political block - UKIP and the Greens.
Even if Nick Clegg's appeal today does not produce a boost in his party's ratings, his party's on course to win between 20 and 40 MPs.
In contrast Nigel Farage has talked of gaining three or four seats and Natalie Bennett knows her party could struggle to hold the one seat they have. Some believe both parties could end up with no MPs at all.
That's why today Nick Clegg's pitch to the nation was to say, in effect, "if you don't like me have you thought about the alternatives?"
So, if you do agree with Nick on that don't be at all surprised if after 7 May he still has a place at the cabinet table.


About 200 jobs will be lost at Walsall Council after spending cuts of £29m were approved.

Some children's centres will close and council tax will go up by 1.99%.
But a decision to close five libraries was reversed by councillors at their 2015-16 budget meeting as the authority looks to slash £86m over the next fours years.
Sean Coughlan, leader of the Labour-led council, said some people will be pleased and others left disappointed.
Cuts of £10.1m were originally put out to consultation, Mr Coughlan said, and the remaining savings of £18m will come from the authority "being more efficient, working differently and cuts in management".
Twelve children's centres will close saving £4.4m, the council confirmed after its budget meeting on Thursday.
Proposed savings of £288,000 by closing libraries in Streetly, Pheasey, Beechdale and Walsall Wood and south Walsall, £140,000 from changes to garden waste collections and £226,000 from the street cleaning budget were removed from the proposals.
They will instead be funded by a payment from council reserves.


An African rider will stand on the podium at a Grand Tour within five years, says the boss of the continent's first team to race the Tour de France.

Team principal Doug Ryder has two Eritreans and three South Africans in his nine-man MTN-Qhubeka line-up at this year's Tour.
"This team, and Africa, can transform cycling," he told BBC World Service.
"We will have an African rider standing on the podium in a Grand Tour in the next three to five years."
A South African-sponsored team, Barloworld, took part in the 2007 and 2008 Tours and riders with African heritage - including Kenya-born Briton Chris Froome, who won the 2013 edition - have competed previously in the Tour de France.
But MTN-Qhubeka, based in South Africa since their creation in 1997 by former professional cyclist Ryder, is the first genuinely African team invited to participate, with this year's Tour starting on Saturday in Utrecht, in the Netherlands.
It includes the first Eritreans to take part - Daniel Teklehaimanot, 26, the best climber in last month's Criterium du Dauphine won by Froome, and his 21-year-old compatriot Merhawi Kudus, who completed the Vuelta a Espana last year.
Three South African riders - Louis Meintjes and the unrelated Jacques Janse van Rensburg and Reinardt Janse van Rensburg - are supplemented by Briton Steve Cummings, Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen, American Tyler Farrar and Belgian Serge Pauwels.
"We are not just here to make up the numbers, we are here to compete," Ryder insists.
"This team has earned its right to be in the Tour de France. They have risen out of the also-rans of the peloton and really shown that they are able to compete at this level.
"Our team will be a breath of fresh air for the Tour because cycling is not just a European sport, it's a sport that should be participated in by people all around the world.
"I can't tell you the level of support and interest we've had in Eritrea from the President down. This team will open the door for African riders to make this breakthrough into world cycling and that door will never be closed."
Ryder has been working on getting an African team into cycling's most prestigious stage race for a decade, and admits "it seemed like an insurmountable task".
"'Are you crazy? You must be smoking some cheap herb Doug, it's never going to happen,'" he recalls being told by the doubters.
But confirmation of the team's entry into the Tour finally arrived this year… via text message.
"Tour Director Christian Prudhomme sent me an SMS and I didn't have his number in my phone," he laughs.
"The message read 'Doug, welcome to the Tour de France, please call me'. I was like what? Really? You get an invite and this guy sends you an SMS… that's how you get told!
"But now we are here we are doing it and it's the realisation of a dream."


Samsung and LG have both said that all their new flagship TVs will support high dynamic range video playback.

HDR-enabled screens can show millions more colours and several more shades of brightness between black and white than normal displays.
This lets them show more detail.
The announcements follow the creation of a new scheme that defines what HDR standards a 4K TV must meet to let it be sold with an "Ultra HD Premium" sticker.
Sony, Panasonic, HiSense, TCL and Sharp have also announced forthcoming TVs that will qualify for the badge.
Over recent years, the TV industry has focused on marketing 4K as a reason to upgrade. This signifies that a television has four times as many pixels as a 1080p high definition set.
But many experts say adding HDR makes more of a difference to the picture, allowing a TV to get closer to replicating the amount of detail our eyes can see in the real world.
"The combination of having the extra levels of contrast between white and black and the increased range of colours really does take TV to next level," commented David Mercer from the research firm Strategy Analytics.
"We've always said selling Ultra HD to the public had to be about more than just the number of pixels.
"Once you've seen the full capabilities of HDR you never want to go back."
Coming up with the new standard had been problematic because the major brands use different display technologies.
Samsung's high-end TVs, for instance, use LCDs (liquid crystal displays) with quantum dots to create a picture. These are tiny particles that emit a different colour of light according to their size.
By contrast, LG uses OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens. These use a carbon-based film that allows the panel to emit its own light when an electrical current is passed through it, doing away with the need for a separate backlight.
The issue was that OLEDs start at nearly perfect black levels and then work their way up to offer a wider-than-normal dynamic range.
Quantum dot LCDs cannot go as dark, but make up for this by having a higher maximum brightness level from which their dynamic range can go down.
In the end, a group of major industry players called the UHD Alliance set two brightness ranges, and said as long as a TV complied with one of them it could qualify.
Other requirements involve:
Adopting the new standard should give consumers confidence that if they buy a new TV it will be compatible with HDR transmissions.
The industry wants to avoid a repeat of the situation in which many of the original televisions sold as being 4K-capable ended up being unable to decode transmissions in the format even though they had enough pixels.
"The key thing is that you have had the involvement of both the content players as well as the technology guys," said Mr Mercer.
Disney, Warner Bros, Universal Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Netflix, Sky TV and Amazon were all involved in creating the new standard.
Amazon already started streaming a limited amount of shows in HDR via its Instant Video service in 2015, and Netflix has signalled it will also do so later this year.
New 4K Blu-ray players unveiled at CES will also allow compatible discs to play back in HDR, meaning films will be able to show more detail at home than when they were screened in most cinemas.
Traditional broadcasters, however, have still to agree a new standard of their own to enable HDR data to be tacked onto existing signals.
"Backward compatibility is important as service providers need to make sure that content can be viewed on legacy TVs, which will continue to represent the majority of installed TVs over the foreseeable future," said broadcast specialist Keepixo in a recent paper on the subject.
Mr Mercer added, however, that it was inevitable that this problem would be solved before too long.
"Clearly it will involve extra production costs, but the broadcasters will feel under pressure from Netflix and Amazon and know they have to do it sooner than later," he said.
"What we're all waiting for, of course, is sports in HDR - it really does have a tremendous impact there."
Read more of our CES articles and follow the BBC team covering the show on Twitter.


A farmer found trapped under his tractor died of major trauma injuries, an inquest has heard.

Peter Francis, 68, was found dead in a field at Llanfynydd, near Mold, Flintshire, by his son Ian on 17 August.
An inquest opened in Ruthin on Monday and heard he left his farm at Burton, Wrexham, to tend to a cow that was about to calve.
It was adjourned until after the Health and Safety Executive has investigated.
A post mortem examination revealed Mr Francis died of major trauma injuries.


Scientists used an iPhone 4S to diagnose intestinal worm infections in schoolchildren in rural Tanzania.

They attached an $8 (Â£5) ball lens to the handset camera lens, and used a cheap torch and double-sided tape to create an improvised microscope.
Pictures were then taken of stool samples placed on lab slides, wrapped in cellophane and taped to the phone.
They were studied for the presence of eggs, the main sign of the presence of the parasites.
When the results were double-checked with a laboratory light microscope, the device had managed to pick up 70% of the samples with infections present - and 90% of the heavier infections.
The study has been published this week in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Researcher Dr Isaac Bogoch, who specialises in internal medicine and infectious diseases at Toronto General Hospital, told the BBC he had read about smartphone microscopes being trialled in a laboratory and decided to "recreate it in a real world setting".
"Ultimately we'd like something like this to be a useful diagnostic test. We want to put it in the hands of someone who might be able to use it," he said.
"70% (accuracy) isn't really good enough,  we want to be above 80% and we're not quite there yet," he added.
"The technology is out there. We want to use materials that are affordable and easy to procure."
Dr Bogoch and his team, which included experts from Massachusetts General Hospital and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, said the only reason he used an Apple iPhone was because it was his own handset.
"You need the ball lens to help with the magnification - but any mobile phone with a decent camera and a zoom function will be sufficient," he explained.
The smallest eggs visible using the smartphone were 40-60 micrometres in diameter.
"From an egg standpoint that is not tiny but it's not enormous either," said Dr Bogoch.
"The microscope was very good at diagnosing children with heavier infection intensities as there are more eggs, so they are easier to see."
Intestinal worms are estimated to affect up to two billion people around the world, mainly in poor areas.
"These parasitic infections cause malnutrition, stunted growth, and stunted mental development," added Dr Bogoch.
"It's a big deal, a big problem."


We do not know how the electronic GPS monitoring tag was removed from the ankle of Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, the terror suspect who went missing after changing into a burka at a London mosque last month.

However, a sturdy pair of scissors was all it took to cut through the strap of an identical tag that was fitted to me the other day.
And there was easily enough room between my ankle and the strap to position the scissor blades before making the cut.
The tag was fitted to me in exactly the same way that all tags are attached to suspects under Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPims).
It is made of a type of plastic, which although tough is deliberately breakable enough to be removed in case of an emergency.
Phil Kemp presents The Report on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday 5 December at 20:00 GMT
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"It can be cut and it can be broken off because it has to break at a certain prescribed limit for safety reasons," says Paul, an equipment specialist for the security company G4S, who fitted it to me. The company runs the GPS monitoring contract for government.  He requested that his surname should not be used.
"You have got enough flexibility so you can get your sock on and off, you can move it around on your leg for comfort, but you can't get it over the heel and over the ankle to remove it," he says.
"But the main fact is that it cannot be cut off, broken off, or removed in any way without detection and without some evidence of what has caused that to be removed."
Buried inside the length of the strap is a fibre-optic cable that, if interfered with, transmits an alert to G4S's monitoring system.
The strap doesn't have to break or be cut for it to raise the alarm. Simply exerting enough force on the strap to damage the cable sends a signal to the authorities that the device could be being tampered with.
Paul says that on the day Mr Mohamed's tag was removed, the device did what it was designed to do.
"It detected the interference immediately, it transmitted that alert to us and we notified the relevant authorities well within our contracted turnaround time for raising that alarm," he says.
However, by the time the police arrived at the mosque where the tag was removed, he had disappeared.
On the same day he went missing, the Crown Prosecution Service dropped a case it had brought against Mr Mohamed and two other TPim subjects for allegedly tampering with their tags. Had they been found guilty, they could have been given prison sentences lasting up to five years.
However, the CPS said they would not be able to prove to a criminal standard that the tags had been deliberately tampered with.
In cases where the defendants dispute trying to remove or break a tag, expert witnesses are called to see if they can work out what exactly triggered a tamper alert.
Prof Ross Anderson is an expert in security engineering at the University of Cambridge and he worked on the defence case for the accused TPim subjects.
"It turned out that the terror suspects had been given large ankle tags, which essentially contained a mobile phone," he tells The Report.
"So in effect a strap that had been designed and validated for holding on a curfew tag the size of a wrist watch was being used to hold on something the size and weight of a mobile phone."
Prof Anderson says what had shown up as an attempt to tamper with the tag could be the result of the wear and tear, caused by the strap carrying a heavier device.
But G4S says it is not aware of any false alerts being given by GPS tags and the suggestion the weight of the devices is a factor is wrong.
A spokesman says: "In the limited number of cases where tamper alerts have been raised, and where we have had access to the tag for analysis, we have been able to prove either definite evidence of deliberate interference, or in one case, evidence of damage which would be consistent with falling or catching the device on a hard surface.
"Professional specialist forensic examination has revealed no evidence of any defect, wear and tear, fatigue or fitting error."
The Home Office says the CPS's decision to drop the case against the TPim subjects was not based on the effectiveness of the tags themselves.
The Ministry of Justice says a new generation of GPS tags is due to be introduced in 2014 and is currently subject to robust testing.
Phil Kemp presents The Report on BBC Radio 4 on  Thursday 4 December at 20:00 GMT. Follow @BBCNewsMagazine on Twitter and on Facebook


A man has been arrested at Gatwick Airport in connection with a murder seen by customers at a London bar.

Josh Hanson, 21, from Kingsbury, was stabbed in the neck at the RE bar in Eastcote, Hillingdon, on 11 October.
The Met said up to 40 people were in the bar at the time when the road planner was killed.
A man, 24, was arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and assisting an offender after arriving at the airport on a UK-bound flight.
The force said it was continuing to hunt for Shane O'Brien, 27, of Ladbroke Grove, in connection with the murder and had put up a Â£10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and prosecution.
Mr O'Brien has links to the Ruislip area, but officers said he could be anywhere in the country and should not be approached.


The ITU World Triathlon Series will return to Leeds after the city hosted the event for the first time in 2016.

The city will hold the fourth race of the eight-leg series over the weekend of 10-11 June.
Olympic gold medallist Alistair Brownlee won his first World Series race of the year in Leeds this month.
"To be able to put triathlon into the heart of a major city is really important," said chief executive of British Triathlon Jack Buckner.
Brownlee's younger brother Jonny finished second in Leeds in 2016, while Rio hopeful Vicky Holland made the podium with third place in the women's event.
2017 ITU World Triathlon Series calendar:
Abu Dhabi, UAE - March 3-4
Gold Coast, Australia - April 8-9
Yokohama, Japan - May 13-14
Leeds, England - June 10-11
Hamburg, Germany - July 15-16
Edmonton, Canada - Dates to be determined
Stockholm, Sweden - August 26-27
Rotterdam, Netherlands - September 14-17


The first wild beaver in more than 400 years has been trapped at a Perthshire nature reserve in order to perform health checks and a DNA test.

The wild beaver had been spotted at the Loch of the Lowes in August.
Staff have managed to catch the animal, which has been identified as a two to three year old male European Beaver.
The aquatic mammal was taken to Edinburgh Zoo for a proper health check and DNA testing, before being released back into the reserve.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT), along with the Tayside Beaver Study Group, has been monitoring the animal at the Loch of the Lowes since it was first spotted last summer.
Staff placed a humane trap, baited with carrots and apples, near the beaver's lodge.
Once caught, it was taken to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) vet in Edinburgh, where the male beaver was given a full check for diseases and a sample of DNA taken.
The animal was re-released on the reserve later the same day, where staff said "he ambled happily down to the water's edge" and swam back to his lodge.
A spokesman at the reserve said: "We intend, of course, to continue monitoring the beaver at Loch of the Lowes and his behaviour, as well as any impact he has on the reserve's ecology.
"He is a charming animal who has provided us with some very funny moments on camera.
"So far there are no confirmed sightings of a second animal here, but it is possible that our male may attract a mate, we will be continuing to monitor him to follow the story."
Beavers became extinct in the UK towards the end of the 16th century.
The current wild beaver populations in Scotland either belong to the government-licensed Scottish Beaver Trial in Knapdale in Argyll, or are the descendants of escapees from private collections in Angus and Perthshire over the past decade.


Uefa and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) are investigating suspected match-fixing after claims of irregular betting involving second-tier club Athlone Town.

The case was sparked by Athlone 3-1's defeat at Longford Town on Saturday.
Now the FAI has announced it is looking at two other Athlone matches.
A Uefa report published by the Irish Times claims "clear evidence" the Longford result "was influenced" for the gain of "corrupt profits".
Data collated by Sportradar, which monitors suspicious betting patterns, was passed to Uefa, European football's governing body, after the game.
The FAI said on Wednesday that it had written to both Athlone Town and Longford Town.
It also said it will interview Athlone's players, coaches and officials from Monday, and had passed information from Uefa's report on to police.
On Friday, it said two other games would be investigated after it received confidential tip-offs.
Uefa's report highlights betting activity in Saturday's match just before half-time and just before full-time as being particularly suspicious.
"Entering the final 15 minutes of the first half at 1-0, betters exhibited a wholly suspicious confidence in at least one further goal being scored prior to half-time," it said.
"Odds were failing to increase against all logical expectations, despite the clear time constraints on this outcome occurring."
Longford increased their lead to 2-0 in the 40th minute, and Athlone scored to make it 2-1 three minutes later.
Odds on a fourth goal being scored also failed to lengthen as full-time approached, before Longford netted in the 93rd-minute, according to the report.
"Such was the overwhelming strength of this entirely one-sided confidence that odds as late as the 89th minute implied it was more likely than not that at least one further goal would be scored," the report added.
"The betting evidence ultimately indicates prior knowledge of Athlone Town suffering a minimum two-goal defeat, in a match which contained at least two first-half goals, and at least four goals in total."
Athlone Town released a statement in which they strongly denied being involved in match-fixing.
It read: "The club absolutely abhors match-fixing and would never knowingly get involved in such unacceptable activity.
"The club will be fully co-operating with those conducting the investigation, and look forward to meeting with FAI officials next week.
"Should any of the allegations be upheld, the club will take action against any wrongdoers."
Uefa says it has a dedicated integrity division which tackles corruption and match-fixing.
"We are completely committed to eradicating match-fixing, a disease that attacks football's very core," it said.


Blinking into the spotlight, this morning Moya Greene will for the first time appear in public to make the case about why the universal, UK-wide postal service is in imminent danger.

At 9.30am the chief executive of Royal Mail is due before the Business Select Committee in the House of Commons.
If the written evidence Royal Mail has sent to the committee is anything to go by, her words will certainly be punchy.
"Without urgent intervention from Ofcom [the postal regulator], there is a clear and growing threat to the finances of the universal service," that evidence says of the Universal Service Obligation (USO) which orders Royal Mail to deliver letters to every part of the UK, six days a week, for a single price.
And doesn't put the same obligation on competitors.
"A tipping point could be reached. The universal service could become unviable before effective changes can be implemented."
Royal Mail's argument is simple. It claims postal competitors such as TNT Post - now called Whistl - are allowed to cherry pick lucrative urban postal routes, leaving Royal Mail to support the costly rural services.
And that means Royal Mail is finding it increasingly hard to make the requisite profits to support the USO.
Now, many accuse Royal Mail of being engaged in a classic diversionary tactic.
Shout about the USO, and hope what many believe to be the actual cause of the business's problems and the softening share price (the labouring parcels division) will be less visible.
Investors - and that includes hundreds of thousands of individuals who bought shares in the Royal Mail float last year - are concerned about Royal Mail's performance in the highly competitive business of delivering mostly brown packages to workplaces and houses.
In that vital division, revenues are falling despite volumes rising - an uncomfortable position for any business to be in.
At its results last week, Royal Mail blamed Amazon, which has launched its own parcels delivery service. Other private providers - Citilink, UPS and DPD for example - have also eaten into market share.
Of course, Amazon is still one of Royal Mail's largest customers and senior figures close to the online delivery service are certainly slightly bemused that Ms Greene has put the US firm in the frame.
With the online delivery sector still growing, it might appear a slightly odd target.
Ofcom is yet to be convinced that the USO is under threat.
I am told that it is keeping its powder dry until it gives its own evidence to the select committee on 10 December.
Around the same time, it is set to produce a report on the UK postal service, competition and the countrywide obligation.
It is likely that previous scepticism from Ofcom that the USO is truly facing pressure will be repeated.
The regulator points out that direct competitors to the Royal Mail still deliver less than 1% of all letters in the UK.
It also says that one of the duties of the regulator is to promote an efficient market to ensure consumers receive the best prices.
Injecting competition is one way of achieving that.
Royal Mail's commercial competitors make similar arguments. They say, for example, that the USO grants Royal Mail exemption from 20% VAT on letters delivery.
Royal Mail insists it is still suffering. It may have a VAT exemption, but, it argues, competitors are gaining higher cost advantages because they are not obliged to offer the same six day level of service.
It also says that where there is direct competition, the market share of the new arrivals can be as high as 14%, well above the 1% national average.
"Market forces - if left unchecked - will naturally work to undermine the universal service," the Royal Mail's evidence says.
The business proposes two solutions to alleviate the threat.
First, it wants to be able to charge different prices around the country for access to its network - which it is mandated to give to competitors via a European Union directive.
It could therefore charge more for delivering the letters and parcels commercial competitors hand on, usually because they are in remoter parts of the country.
Second, Royal Mail wants tougher regulatory rules applied to competitors so that they have to fulfil some of the delivery and collection targets Royal Mail has to achieve, such as a six day service.
That would certainly go some way to levelling out the operational cost differential between the Royal Mail and the rest of the market.
Ofcom says it is keeping a close eye on the situation and will look at a review of the obligation by 2015. The select committee of MPs will also have a view on the strength of Moya Greene's arguments.
Parliament has legislated that the USO must be maintained until at least 2021.
And delivery of letters six days a week for a single price is certainly not going to stop tomorrow.
Ms Greene argues, though, that action must be taken now to guarantee the USO into the future.
MPs will hear her case this morning.


A 13ft-deep hole causing widespread disruption to trains in south London has been found to have opened above an active sewer.

Network Rail and Thames Water engineers are at the scene after the hole appeared in Forest Hill on Monday.
The disruption is expected to last until Wednesday, with Southern, Thameslink and London Overground services affected.
Thames Water said a sewer under the track had collapsed.
It said the repair work was "extremely complex" and that engineers had located the problem section of the sewer and were working to seal it.
Dry concrete has been put into the hole, forming a base to pour wet concrete on top. Once it has set, about 50 tonnes of ballast will be inserted, with the aim of opening the railway on Wednesday.
Network Rail has closed all four lines between East Croydon and London Bridge, meaning Southern services to London Bridge are either cancelled or diverted.
London Overground services are not running between West Croydon/Crystal Palace and New Cross Gate.
Carl Leadbetter, Thames Water's regional network manager, said: "Our teams continue to work as fast as possible on this critical job.
"While we need to work quickly to reopen the train lines, we also need to consider local residents, who will potentially suffer from sewer flooding if the pipe is not properly enclosed.
"This is an extremely complex job as the pipe is in a difficult location in the tracks and six metres below the ground."
Network Rail apologised for the delays and said it was working "as hard as possible" to get the problem fixed by Wednesday morning's rush hour.
Spokesman Chris Denham said the hole "couldn't be in a worse place".
"This is a massive piece of railway," he told BBC Radio London. "It's the equivalent of shutting the A2 out of London in the morning. It's absolutely huge."
Some passengers expressed their frustration on social media, mentioning how the problem occurred on the hottest day of the year so far.
Elsewhere in London, high temperatures have been disrupting trains between the city and the West, with speeds being cut over fears of rails buckling.
Trains coming out of Paddington, Euston and Liverpool Street all saw severe disruption.
And Southern services heading to Brighton from Victoria were heavily disrupted following a track failure in the Gatwick area.
It comes as commuters have experienced months of cancellations and delays on Southern trains due to an RMT dispute.
New rail minister Paul Maynard will appear before the Commons Transport Select Committee on Wednesday to give evidence on the Department for Transport's role in the issue.
For more details on this story, please tune into BBC Radio London and follow @BBCTravelAlert on Twitter.


A US air strike has killed 16 Afghan policemen in the southern province of Helmand, local officials say.

The attack happened as Afghan security forces were clearing Taliban militants from a village in the Gereshk district, police told AFP news agency.
Nato has acknowledged the incident, without detailing how many Afghans died, and promised an investigation.
Meanwhile, the Taliban say a son of their leader has died carrying out a suicide attack in the same area.
The group named him as Abdul Rahman Khalid, son of Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, and said the attack on Thursday that he and other "martyrs" had carried out had caused heavy casualties.
Afghan officials said they could not confirm the report.
The US air strikes on Friday afternoon were part of the Nato mission to support Afghan forces against the Taliban.
"In the strike, 16 Afghan policemen were killed including two commanders. Two other policemen were wounded," Helmand police spokesman Salam Afghan told AFP.
A Nato statement said: "During a US-supported (Afghan security) operation, aerial fires resulted in the deaths of the friendly Afghan forces who were gathered in a compound.
"We would like to express our deepest condolences to the families affected by this unfortunate incident."
In a separate development, there are reports of numerous casualties after the Taliban ambushed an Afghan police patrol in the north-eastern Badakhshan province.
Some reports say at least 10 police officers were killed, while local officials put the figure at 35.


The United Arab Emirates has said that it intends to invest $163bn (Â£134bn) in projects to generate half of the nation's power needs from renewables.

The major oil producing Gulf state is hoping to get close to this by 2050 and says it wants to balance economic needs against environmental goals.
The UAE has considerable solar power potential and is eager to reduce its use of fossil fuels.
The country ranks high in per capita greenhouse gas CO2 emissions.
The UAE is eighth on the World Bank's worldwide list of CO2 emissions per capita, below Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.
UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said it is hoped that by 2050, 44% of the country's energy needs will be provided by renewables, with 38% from gas, 12% from cleaner fossil fuel and 6% from nuclear energy.
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Writing on Twitter, he said: "The plan aims to increase usage efficiency by 40% and boost clean-energy contributions to 50%.
"He who does not think of energy is not thinking about the future. The UAE government has made an achievement in drawing up a unified energy strategy for the country."
Dubai and Abu Dhabi in particular have been at the forefront of the UAE's push to plough resources into renewables:
Elsewhere, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen pledged in November to use only renewable energy by 2050.


Swansea City head coach Francesco Guidolin says he expects interest in the club's top-scorer Gylfi Sigurdsson this summer.

Sigurdsson, 26, is under contract at Swansea until 2018, but has been linked with a number of big clubs.
Guidolin, appointed permanent manager on a two-year deal, hopes the Icelandic midfielder remains at the Liberty Stadium.
"I'm sure other teams have interest in Gylfi," Guidolin said.
"I hope [he stays] because he's an important player for us. But I don't know what will happen in the future."
Sigurdsson won Swansea City's supporters' and players' player of the year awards after scoring 11 goals in the club's successful fight against relegation.
He returned to Swansea from Tottenham Hotspur on a four-year deal in July 2014 having spent 2011-12 on loan at the Liberty Stadium from German club Hoffenheim.
The midfielder has been included in Iceland's squad for this summer's Euro 2016 finals in France.
Iceland have qualified for their first European Championships and will face Portugal, Austria and Hungary in Group F.
"It's a very big thing for me personally and for the rest of the country to finally reach the Euros," Sigurdsson said.
"The biggest achievement for us was to get there from a top group with Holland, Turkey and the Czech Republic.
"There probably won't be any pressure on us. Everyone is surprised we managed to get there.
"We haven't set ourselves any targets, we're in a tough group. We'll be going there to enjoy it and hopefully we can get a good start."


Highland councillors have approved a 3% increase in the basic rate of council tax for 2017-18.

A meeting of the full council in Inverness also set Highland Council's budget for the new financial year.
The local authority's ruling administration has said that raising council tax would generate more than Â£3.5m in extra income.
This would help Highland Council to reduce its funding gap of Â£20m to about Â£10m.
Savings agreed in December 2014 and February last year would also assist the local authority in narrowing this gap between its required expenditure and income.
Highland Council, along with all of Scotland's other local authorities, was given the option this year to raise the basic rate of council tax by up to 3%.
This means rates for all properties could rise above the level set in 2007 for the first time, with the end of the Scottish government's long-running council tax freeze policy.


OK, so Mark Wright has been named Lord Sugar's new business partner but we all know that the best thing about The Apprentice isn't the people who succeed.

No, we all watch the show to see the mess-ups, the catastrophes, the all-out disasters.
After all, there's nothing more rewarding than thinking, "I could have definitely done better than THAT!"
So let's count down some of the best (worst) moments from the last series.
The hypnotherapist made a solid impression in the first week of the competition when she told her team of female contestants that they had to wear make-up and short skirts to help them stand out.
She was met with blank stares as competitors and viewers alike wondered if she had come straight out of the 1950s.
Another contestant to blaze a trail for feminism was Daniel Lassman, who created questions for his team's board game that included: "Men think women should... a) iron, b) smile more or c) always be happy."
As one game reviewer on the show said: "The game itself feels pretty sexist to me."
It's hard to pick which bit of the coach tours was the worst, but we're plumping for Sanjay getting his group lost.
But we must also mention the sing-song organised by James, and those awful-looking lunches.
Note to self: Never, ever try to outsmart Lord Sugar.
Felipe Alviar-Baquero came unstuck when his paper skeleton replica didn't quite cut the mustard in the purchasing challenge - and yet again, Daniel managed to escape being sacked.
Because HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
You're about to walk into the biggest job interview of your life. And oh yeah, it's being filmed for prime time television.
So for your presentation you bring in some illustrations and logos - but absolutely no figures... Soloman - you're fired.
There's nothing like watching a smug so-and-so getting his comeuppance - and so it was hard not to rub your hands with glee when Mark Wright spluttered his way through a big pitch to the supermarkets.
"Cough-hello-cough-cough-cough-trifle-cough-yum-cough-cough-pudding-cough."
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West Brom have signed QPR midfielder Sandro on loan until the end of the season, with the option to sign him on a permanent deal in the summer.

The 26-year-old Brazilian, who moved to England in 2010 when he joined Spurs, has played 11 times for QPR so far this season.
His last appearance came in a 1-1 draw with Huddersfield on 28 December.
Baggies manager Tony Pulis wanted cover because of injuries to James Morrison and Callum McManaman.
"I spoke to the manager and was impressed," Sandro told the West Brom website. "This is a big club and I feel happy to be here and very happy to be back in the Premier League.
"I believe I have a lot to offer. I'm looking forward to being part of this family.
"As a player I play with my heart, I give all I can on the pitch - all the time I want to win the ball and play the ball. I hope the fans will see the best of me during my time."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Mae clwb pêl-droed Abertawe wedi penodi Paul Clement yn swyddogol fel prif hyfforddwr newydd y clwb.

Mae Clement, oedd yn rheolwr cynorthwyol ar glwb Bayern Munich yn Yr Almaen, wedi cytuno ar gytundeb dwy flynedd a hanner i reoli'r Elyrch.
Yn gynharach ddydd Llun fe roddodd y clwb o'r Almaen ganiatâd i Paul Clement, 44 oed, i siarad ag Abertawe.
Cafodd Clement gyfweliad am y swydd ym mis Hydref cyn i Bob Bradley afael yn yr awenau yn dilyn ymadawiad y prif hyfforddwr Francesco Guidolin.
Paul Clement felly fydd trydydd rheolwr Abertawe y tymor hwn. Y disgwyl yw y bydd e'n bresennol yn y gêm rhwng Crystal Palace a'r Elyrch yn Selhurst Park nos Fawrth.
Tan fis Chwefror 2016 roedd Mr Clement yn rheoli tîm Derby County a chyn hynny bu'n rheolwr cynorthwyol ar dimau Chelsea a Real Madrid.
Mae'r Elyrch wedi colli eu pedair gêm ddiwethaf gan gynnwys yr un ddydd Sadwrn adref yn erbyn Bournemouth.


The NHS in Wales has already faced "exceptional" challenges this winter, the head of the organisation has said.

It includes some of the busiest days ever faced by hospital emergency units and the Welsh Ambulance Service.
It comes as December's A&E waiting times were published, which are the first indication of how Wales is coping with winter pressures.
Dr Andrew Goodall said currently up to 20% of admissions in some A&Es are of patients aged over 85.
"We're used to having a high proportion of over 85s - the normal level is around 10% but we're seeing levels close to 20% over the last two weeks," said Dr Goodall, NHS Wales chief executive.
The latest statistics suggest there has been a significant increase in the number of patients who have had to wait more than 12 hours in emergency departments this December compared to the same time last year.
In December, 2,425 patients had to spend over 12 hours in urgent care departments - compared to 1,457 in the same month in 2015 - a rise of two thirds. It is down from 2,471 in November however.
But the 81% figure suggests the performance of Welsh A&Es departments against the four hour waiting time target is slightly worse compared to the previous December's 82%.
The data excludes Glan Clwyd Hospital, which could not provide figures for technical reasons.
The winter picture so far includes:
Dr Goodall added: "We remain a system under a lot of pressure but we've prepared very well for this winter.
"There have been some difficult days. But the fact we've come in to this winter with an ambulance service which is performing much more resiliently has really helped us in our response and that we've kept our social care delays low is a positive issue but there is still more to go at."
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Dr David Bailey, deputy chairman of the BMA in Wales and a GP in Trethomas, Caerphilly county, said there had been a "more mature" response from the government in Wales.
But in terms of pressures they were "pretty much identical" in every aspect of the health service and there was no slack in the system.
"We've lost about 40% of the bed numbers in Wales over the last 15 years - like in England - so when there's a surge you haven't the capacity to cope," he said.
"The problems then knock on and even when you get back to more normal levels you have all the backlogs - you can't get people out of hospital because of social care cuts and difficulties in getting people back into their own environment.
"There are then all the concerns about extra overcrowding so you get more hospital-acquired infections - it becomes perfect a storm because of the additional numbers we're not set up to deal with."
Leaked data for NHS England seen by BBC News showed the figure reached a low of 75.8% on 3 January but had recovered to 82.4% last week. It followed claims of a "humanitarian crisis" in the NHS in England and that GPs in England were being made "scapegoats" for pressures on A&E departments.
Welsh Health Secretary Vaughan Gething has said winter pressures are driven by a large increase in much sicker patients.
He tweeted last week that "GPs are not to blame for that fact" and the UK government "picking a fight with NHS staff and demanding the same staff numbers work even longer is a crass attempt to deflect attention".
Dr Bailey said there were consequences of funding cuts and recruitment problems being felt across the NHS and efficiencies could only take us so far.
"If there isn't enough capacity, that doesn't help," he added.
He said there was a "slightly better balance in Wales" to protect social care budgets but it relied on Westminster funding which had been "cut across the board".
Analysis by Mark Dayan, policy and public affairs analyst, Nuffield Trust
"These figures aren't a surprise and are similar to this stage last winter. For some years Wales has been particularly struggling with four hour A&E waits, compared with England and Scotland although there are some signs England is catching up.
"These are issues rooted in the flow through hospitals, the ability to discharge patients to some extent and the ability to move through patients in a timely fashion. Ultimately, there is just the pressure of a growing number of patients on a limited number of beds.
"All parts of the UK tend to show trickier A&E performance in winter - largely due to more elderly patients with respiratory conditions who really need a hospital bed. The underlying factor is pressure to move patients into beds and then the difficulty moving them out to free beds up."
"Finances are very tight, particularly since the recession - Wales bears the brunt of that - but another factor is patients in Wales spend longer in hospital than England and Scotland and that's something we need to look into more. There are also the problems of shortages in key workforce groups, like GPs."
Dr Goodall said 400 extra beds had been made available this winter - the equivalent of a district general hospital - in temporary facilities in decommissioned wards and care homes.
He also said delays in transferring elderly patients from hospital back to care at home had "continued to reduce and improve" and were running much lower than historic levels.
Plaid Cymru's health spokesman Rhun Ap Iorwerth AM said crisis levels of performance were becoming the norm throughout the year.
"Doctors in A&E departments rightly focus on those who are more seriously ill, but we should not have a situation where almost 3,000 people a month have to wait longer than 12 hours in A&E to be seen," he said.
Conservative health spokeswoman Angela Burns AM said worsening A&E statistics had become routine for the Welsh Government.
"Their constant inability to meet their own targets is not only frustrating but incredibly dangerous for patients; the longer patients have to wait for treatment the greater the risk to their health," she said.
The Welsh Government said winter was always a very challenging period for our health and social services.
A spokesman added: "It is testament to the commitment and skill of doctors, nurses, social workers, paramedics and other key staff that despite these difficult circumstances, the vast majority of patients continue to receive the best possible care in a professional and timely manner."


Chelsea have re-signed Brazil defender David Luiz from Paris St-Germain for a fee of around £34m.

The 29-year-old travelled to London for a medical as the Blues confirmed the signing of left-back Marcos Alonso from Fiorentina for a reported £23m.
Luiz returns to Stamford Bridge on a three-year deal.
He first joined the Blues from Benfica for £21.3m in January 2011, and made 143 appearances before leaving to join PSG for a reported £40m in 2014.
Capped 56 times for his country, Luiz won the Champions League and FA Cup with Chelsea in 2012, as well as the Europa League a year later.
"We had a fantastic story during my first time at the club," said Luiz, who went on to lift two Ligue 1 titles with PSG.
Meanwhile, Alonso moves to the Premier League for the third time in his career.
The uncapped Spaniard, 25, played for Bolton 46 times from 2010 to 2013 before moving to Fiorentina, and had a four-month loan spell at Sunderland in 2014.
"It's time for me to win some titles," Alonso said on Chelsea's website. "It's a step up in my career."
Cesar Azpilicueta is the first-choice left-back at Chelsea, who have loaned Baba Rahman to Schalke this summer.
Meanwhile, a further 11 Chelsea players have departed the club on loan, bringing their total out of temporary deals to 38.
Among them is winger Juan Cuadrado, 28, who has rejoined Juventus on a three-year loan deal.
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Nasa astronaut Jeff Williams has become the most experienced American astronaut ever.

The awesome astronaut safely touched back down to Earth yesterday with two Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka, after living on board the International Space Station.
Jeff has spent a total of 534 days in space, meaning he now holds the record, for the most time living in space of all American astronauts.
This latest mission to the ISS is Jeff's fourth time in space, and his third long-duration stay on the space station.
He is a flight engineer and has been on four spacewalks since his first mission into space in 2000.
However, Jeff still has a long way to go to beat the world record holder Gennady Padalka.
The Russian cosmonaut has spent a whopping 879 days in space, that's nearly two and a half years!


Labour has defeated the former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and taken Sheffield Hallam.

The former deputy prime minister lost to Labour's Jared O'Mara by more than 2,000 votes.
He becomes one of the most high-profile figures to lose his seat in this election.
Mr Clegg, who was elected leader of the party in December 2007, said he had "never shirked from the political battlefield".
He warned of the "agonising" future ahead for the next government that seeks to unite a divided country.
"It is a parliament, which in my judgement, will not only face the excruciating task of trying to assemble a sensible government for this country, but it will need to deal with the agonising decisions which we face as a country as we navigate our way towards Brexit," he said.
He said the government "would be presiding over a deeply divided and polarised nation".
It comes as an exit poll suggests the Liberal Democrats are set to increase their number of seats.
Mr Clegg formed a coalition with the Conservatives in 2010.
He stood down as leader in 2015, after which Tim Farron was elected.
In Doncaster North, former Labour leader Ed Miliband was re-elected with an increased share of the vote.
The Conservatives also increased their share of the vote at the expense of Ukip.
Labour held Wentworth and Dearne, with John Healey polling 28,547 votes. The party also held Rotherham, Rother Valley and Penistone and Stocksbridge.
The party also held Sheffield Central, Sheffield South East, Sheffield Heeley, Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, Barnsley Central and East, Doncaster Central and Don Valley.


Britain's Anthony Joshua will defend his IBF heavyweight title in Manchester on 10 December whether it is against Wladimir Klitschko or another fighter, says promoter Eddie Hearn.

Joshua, 27, and Ukraine's Klitschko, 40, had agreed terms on a world heavyweight title bout.
But Klitschko is reportedly reluctant to fight without at least one of the WBA or WBO titles on the line.
Hearn said he was "crossing fingers" that Klitschko took the fight.
Both the WBA and WBO will need to sanction the bout for their respective belts to be made available, but are yet to do so.
Britain's Tyson Fury beat Klitschko last November to win the WBA, IBF and WBO titles, before being stripped of the IBF title for failing to fight the mandatory challenger.
Britain's Joshua then beat American Charles Martin to win the IBF belt in April.
Last week, Fury, 28, relinquished his WBA and WBO belts and his boxing licence was then suspended.
The WBC belt is held by American Deontay Wilder.
"We are beginning discussions with other opponents now while crossing our fingers that Klitschko takes the fight, regardless of how many belts are on the line," Hearn told Sky Sports.
Another option for Klitschko would be to fight New Zealander Joseph Parker for the WBO belt in Germany.
"In an ideal world, there would be as many belts as possible on the line, but I hope he takes up the challenge rather than a soft touch in Germany," added Hearn.


Roberto Escobar, the brother of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, has written to the video streaming company Netflix asking to review the second season of the series Narcos.

The series portrays the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, who was shot dead by police in 1993, and the Medellin drug cartel he lead.
Roberto Escobar said he wanted to determine the accuracy of the contents.
The second season is expected to focus on the drug lord's escape from prison.
Roberto Escobar registered for "successor-in-interest rights" to Pablo Escobar and the Escobar family name in California in 2015, meaning that he has assumed the rights, duties, obligations and assets of Pablo Escobar's business.
In his letter to Netflix, Roberto Escobar writes: "It is my wish that you do not release any Narcos television show or any other show or shows depicting me, my family or my brother Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria, unless I am given the rightful opportunity to review this material."
He alleges that "in the first season or Narcos, there were mistakes, lies and discrepancies from the real story, the story that I was not only part of making, but that I survived from [sic]".
Roberto Escobar worked as his brother's accountant for years and in his letter he describes himself as "Pablo's closest ally".
He also warns Netflix not to release any merchandise "as we control all such rights".
The second season of Narcos is scheduled to be released in September.
Mr Escobar ends the letter, which was obtained by TMZ, by pointing out it is meant "as a friendly request for co-operation".
However his last sentence appears to have a slightly menacing undertone as it evokes the memory of the late Pablo Escobar, who ordered the killing of thousands of people.
"All we want to do is make sure that things are done right. My brother would not have liked season 1, maybe he will enjoy season 2 if you respond me [sic] and we solve this [sic] issue."
Netflix have not yet commented on the letter.
The first season of Narcos portrayed Pablo Escobar's rise to power as the head of the Medellin drugs cartel and the efforts by US anti-drug agents to hunt him down.
Two US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents who took part in the hunt for Pablo Escobar acted as technical consultants on Narcos.
Pablo Escobar's son, who goes by the name of Sebastian Marroquin, also offered his services as a technical consultant but was turned down by the series' director.
Mr Marroquin, like Roberto Escobar, has slammed the first season for its "inaccuracies".
In particular, Mr Marroquin alleges that the series portrays the DEA in too positive a light.
Pablo Escobar is thought to have been behind between 4,000 and 5,000 killings in Colombia during the 1980s and 1990s, but many in Colombia and abroad are still fascinated with his lavish lifestyle and the extent of his power.


Among the evacuation of people from the flooded town of Edgecumbe, New Zealand, one son-in-law's rescue mission has ended up saving dozens of stranded residents.

When the Rangitaiki River burst, Tautini Hahipene was working on the opposite side of town to the affected area, which included his mother-in-law's house.
By the end of a frantic day, he had helped to rescue nearly 30 people.
"It wasn't that bad to start with," he says. "But they still had to get people out.
"When it all started off, while I was at work at Edgecumbe Dairy Company across the river, a colleague on the same street as my mother-in-law said it was OK.
"I carried on. About 8.30, 9am, I heard people were being evacuated. I rang my mother-in-law but the phone was cut off.
"I rang my wife, asked about my mother-in-law. She said they'd got water right through the house, and 'to get over there, she's on her own, she's crying'."
When Tautini informed his work colleagues he was going to get his mother-in-law, one of them let him borrow his 4x4 utility vehicle.
Although the Civil Defence Force was in attendance, Tautini found the situation more difficult than the vehicle could handle.
"Water was halfway up my wheels and then a large wave of water came towards me so I backed up, but I passed a guy pulling a trailer.
"I said 'You've got to go back! There are still people there'."
When Tautini reached his mother-in-law's, he found her hanging on to the side of her house on a trestle with her dog.
"We had to take baby steps but we got her and her next-door neighbour on board the trailer.
"We heard neighbours call for help. We ended up with 20 or 30 people, including a guy in a wheelchair, his wife and his son.
"The water was moving in a swift torrent and there were lots of elderly people. Luckily it wasn't too cold.
"The Civil Defence guys were busy elsewhere, tied down co-ordinating refuge for people. Me and my buddy were directing people out.
"We were moving slowly through dirty water all the way and we had to ask people 'What's below us? Is it grass or concrete?'
"One lady, it took four or five of us to lift her. There were more kiddies, more families. The fire brigade turned up with a tractor and got the kiddies away."
People who know Tautini have said he deserves a medal from the Queen, but he is modest about his accomplishments.
"I was lucky I saw the guy with a digger pulling a trailer," he says. "A normal 4x4 would not have been good enough."
And his mother-in-law is well, having a "couple of wines" with Tautini's wife while he has rewarded himself with a "couple of beers".


Huddersfield Giants forward Ukuma Ta'ai has signed a two-year contract extension.

The 29-year-old Tongan, who joined the Giants from New Zealand Warriors in September 2012, was ever-present in the 2016 season.
"I am so excited that the club has given me the opportunity to stay," Ta'ai told the club website.
"The fans are fantastic and I am excited to be given the chance to stay here for another two years."


A prototype computer with 160TB of memory has been unveiled by Hewlett Packard Enterprises.

Designed to work on big data, it could analyse the equivalent of 160 million books at the same time, HPE said.
The device, called The Machine, had a Linux-based operating system and prioritised memory rather than processing power, the company said.
HPE said its Memory Driven Computing research project could eventually lead to a "near-limitless" memory pool.
"The secrets to the next great scientific breakthrough, industry-changing innovation or life-altering technology hide in plain sight behind the mountains of data we create every day," said HPE boss Meg Whitman.
"To realise this promise, we can't rely on the technologies of the past, we need a computer built for the big data era."
Prof Les Carr, of the University of Southampton, told the BBC The Machine would be fast but big data faced other challenges.
"The ultimate way to speed things up is to make sure you have all the data present in your computer as close to the processing as possible so this is a different way of trying to speed things up," he said.
"However, we need to make our processing... not just faster but more insightful and business relevant."
"There are many areas in life where quicker is not necessarily better."


A specialist PSNI cyber crime team viewed more than eight million photographs and video clips last week in the hunt for sex offenders.

The vast majority were viewed using specialist software which identifies potentially illegal images, which were then viewed by members of the team.
The police said that was a typical week for the team.
The PSNI said cyber crime now impacts on almost everything police officers do.
The officer in charge of the PSNI's cyber crime centre, Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr, said the nature of policing had changing significantly in recent years.
"When a serious crime such as an armed robbery has been committed, members of the public see the police response to it in their community," he said.
"They see uniformed officers, usually in marked cars, and often with lights and sirens, respond to that emergency situation. There is a visible, tangible response to criminal activity.
"But when it comes to cyber crime, the public don't see the crime, unless they are the victim. And they don't see our response. Not because it isn't there but because the response has to be as discreet as the crime itself because of the hidden and technically sophisticated world in which this takes place."
The specialist team conducts investigations into incidents ranging from sexual exploitation and blackmail to complex frauds, murders, terrorist incidents and computer enabled attacks on large businesses.
In the last financial year, the PSNI examined approximately 6,000 mobile phones and 450 computers.
The cyber crime centre has 21 specialist officers, but the PSNI said that is just the core team and that several hundred others throughout Northern Ireland have received specialist training in the examination of digital media and internet research.
"We have officers across the PSNI dealing with cyber crime on a daily basis," said ACC Kerr.
"They are working hard to keep people safe online from this often unseen threat. The cyber crime centre will work in partnership with the local community, business and industry and law enforcement partners nationally and internationally.
"I have no doubt the threat will grow. The test we face, as a police service and as a community, is how we deal with it.
"Online safety should be everyone's priority. How police deal with rising demand to tackle cyber crime against a backdrop of reduced resources in the visible world will be an ongoing challenge."


A rugby player killed on his way home from a match had been racing his car with another vehicle shortly before it crashed, an inquest has heard.

Mark Davey, 33, from Luton, died from severe head and brain injuries after his Audi hit a roundabout on the A6 at Wixams, Bedfordshire, last September.
The driver of the Porsche he was seen racing against, who failed to stop, has never been traced.
Ampthill Coroner's Court heard both cars reached speeds of up to 80 mph.
Mr Davey, who was a company director at Indigo Residential estate agents in Luton, played as a winger for Luton Rugby Club.
He was driving home after an away game against Bedford Swifts on 13 September when the crash happened.
It is believed he was racing his Audi R8 against a black Porsche 911, which successfully navigated the roundabout Mr Davey's car hit.
William White, from Elstow, who was a passenger in another car, said he saw both vehicles swapping lanes and undertaking, with the Porsche driver gesturing and waving in his mirror.
Mr Davey tried to overtake the Porsche which blocked the Audi, said Mr White, who "saw the car airborne followed by debris and smoke".
The victim's car hit the roundabout at about 48 mph, propelling it into the air before it landed on its roof, the court heard.
Collision investigator PC Bob Wagstaff, told the inquest the two cars were racing but "there was no obvious contact between the cars and that conditions were good and the road surface was in good order".
Bedfordshire coroner Tom Osborne concluded Mr Davey died as a result of a road traffic collision.
"The message from this inquest should be that speed doesn't just result in points or a lost licence or a written off car, loss of job or prison... it results in death," he said.
After the inquest, Mr Davey's father Chris said he hoped his son's death would act as a warning to those tempted to speed.
"We just do not realise our vulnerability," he said.
"If it makes one person not chase another car then my son's life has not been in vain."
He said he still hoped the Porsche driver would be identified.
"I know if the cars had been the other way round Mark would have stood there next to you and would have comforted your loved onesâ€¦ even today you can come forward," he said.


Scottish law firm Maclay Murray and Spens LLP (MMS) is to merge with one of the world's largest legal firms.

MMS said it was combining with Dentons, which has more than 8,000 lawyers in more than 60 countries.
The merger is expected to complete later this year following approval by the partnerships of both companies.
MMS, which has offices in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and London, reported turnover of Â£44.7m in the year to the end of May 2016.
Last year it had more than 200 fee-earners and 156 administrative and support staff.
The firm was founded in Glasgow in 1871 and was the first commercial law practice to be formed in Scotland.
Once the merger is completed, MMS will take on the Dentons brand.
Dentons said the move would "significantly enhance" its scale and capabilities in the UK.
Jeremy Cohen, chief executive for Dentons' UK and Middle East region, said: "Maclay Murray and Spens is a Scottish leader in some of our strongest practices and sectors including financial services, energy, transport and infrastructure, and real estate.
"By combining we will also significantly increase our out-of-London capability."
MMS chief executive Kenneth Shand said: "Joining forces with the world's largest law firm is tremendously exciting for us.
"With offices across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific, Dentons will unquestionably be the only significant player in Scotland which is a genuinely global firm."


The government's housing minister has defended claims of almost £31,000 for London hotel stays, despite owning a home in Essex.

Great Yarmouth MP Brandon Lewis spent nearly £15,000 last year on 99 overnight stays and about £16,000 the year before, The Sunday Times reported.
Mr Lewis opted to stay in the capital rather than travel home to Essex, the paper said.
In a statement, he said all the claims complied with parliamentary rules.
A spokesman for his office said: "Every expense claim is entirely in accordance with the rules and approved by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA)."
Privately, he is said to be "hurt" by the allegations.
Nearly all the stays were at the Park Plaza hotel, near Parliament, for which Mr Lewis would typically claim £450 for three nights and £750 for a five-night-stay.
There is no suggestion Mr Lewis has done anything wrong. As an MP for a constituency more than an hour away from London, he is allowed to claim expenses for either a second home, or for overnight stays in London. He has never claimed for his home in Great Yarmouth.
Friends who've spoken to him on Monday say he is hurt by the allegations. He says he often doesn't claim travel expenses and is often left out of pocket when he stays in London.
Fellow Norfolk MPs regard his claims as reasonable.
But other junior ministers in the last Government claimed far less for London hotels.
MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, Dan Poulter, claimed just £3,000, while colleague Norman Lamb, MP for North Norfolk, claimed £6,450 for hotel accommodation.
If you have friends or access to property in London you can reduce your costs.
Mr Lewis hasn't, and under the fairer revised expenses rules, he seems to be entitled to everything he claims.