Shocking report reveals number of children questioned by police over 'sexting'

Following a campaign which was launched by the National Crime Agency in June, a number of police investigations have been conducted into the creation, distribution and possession of indecent images among children.

According to figures obtained by The Sun newspaper via the Freedom of Information Act, over 1,000 youngsters under the age of 18 have been investigated for their participation in the activity since 2012.

Worrying reports reveal that there has been a significant increase in the number of investigations conducted into explicit images sent by children via social media and messaging services in the last three years.

While 150 investigations were conducted in 2012, that figure has gradually increased with 742 investigations taking place in the last 12 months.

Commenting on the worrying trend of 'sexting' among school-age children, children's charity, NSPCC, said: "We don't want to see children criminalised. But while many of them may see sexting as harmless fun, it is illegal and can leave young people vulnerable to blackmail and bullying, or attract the attention of sex offenders as the images may get shared online."

Further to this, children's charity, ChildLine, has indicated a significant increase in the number of calls taken regarding the issue.

According to recent figures, the charity has provided a staggering 1,300 counselling sessions to youngsters concerned about the issue while it has also been established that a quarter of the children questioned by police were under the age of 13.