One in 20 schoolchildren has received a nude or semi-nude picture online, according to survey

The NSPCC surveyed 3,611 in the region and found an average of one in 25 primary school children and one in 20 secondary school children had received such an image.

One in 50 schoolchildren had sent a nude or semi-nude image to an adult, according to the largest-ever UK survey of children’s experiences online.

Police forces in Yorkshire and the Humberside have recorded 297 offences of sexual communication with a child since the new law began last year.

Earlier this year, The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said it was concerned about the risk of child sexual exploitation via livestreaming apps and described how legitimate internet platforms could be abused by offenders intent on contacting children.

The NSPCC has today (Thursday) launched a #WildWestWeb campaign which calls on the Government to create an independent regulator for social networks to force platforms to proactively detect groomers using their sites.

In a survey of nearly 40,000 children, ‘Children Sending and Receiving Images’, the NSPCC asked young people aged seven to 16 about the risks they face when using the internet.

Children were asked whether an adult had ever sent or shown them a naked or semi-naked picture or video on an app, site or game.

Children said the problem was not limited to strangers contacting them, and some said they had been sent images by adults that they know. 

One teenage boy, aged 14 or 15, said in the survey: “My coach sent me a video of Santa stripping naked.”

Others reported that the exchange of sexual images, often known as sexting, is becoming normalised.

One pupil, aged 12-13, said: “A girl from my primary (was) sending half naked pictures because it's what everyone does.”

Data obtained by the NSPCC via a Freedom of Information request showed that when police forces recorded what platform was used by groomers, either Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat was used in 70 per cent of cases.

Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, said: “Grooming can no longer be shrugged off as secondary to other online crimes. 

“It is happening now, it is happening to very young children, it is happening so frequently that it's becoming normalised, and it is not only coming from adult strangers, but also from known adults.

“Social networks have become a gateway for child abuse. 

“The NSPCC has launched a petition calling on digital secretary Jeremy Wright and home secretary Sajid Javid to put an end to the Wild West Web.

“We need tough regulation of social networks to make sure there are fundamental protections for children in place whatever sites they're using.”

The petition can be found by visiting http://bit.ly/2BTX0Bm