A BOURNEMOUTH University lecturer has hit-out at the NSPCC for “whipping up a moral panic” over claims children are worried about being “addicted” to pornography.

Dr William Proctor, a lecturer in media, culture and communication at BU, is one of several academics, media professionals and researchers criticising the children’s charity after it reported that a tenth of 12 to 13-year-olds fear they are "addicted" to porn.

The report, which was based on a survey conducted by One Poll, found one in five of nearly 700 children surveyed said they had seen pornographic images that had “shocked or upset” them.

And the charity says 12 percent of those surveyed said they had taken part in, or had made, a sexually explicit video.

Following the publication of the findings, the Tories announced if re-elected they would introduce new age-restriction measures to “protect our children from harmful material” online.

In an open letter to Peter Wanless, chief executive officer at the NSPCC, a group of doctors, academics, journalists and campaigners have criticised the NSPCC for suggesting “pornography is causing harm to new generations of young people”.

The letter, which has been signed by Dr Proctor, as well as his BU colleague Dr Ann Luce, senior lecturer in journalism and communication, states the study “appears to rely entirely on self-report evidence from young people of 11 and older, and so is not – as it has been presented – indicative of actual harm”.

It continues: “But rather, provides evidence that some young people are fearful that pornography is harming them. In other words, this study looks at the effects on young people of widely published but unevidenced concerns about pornography, not the effects of pornography itself.”

Dr Proctor said the research conducted by One Poll is “ethically questionable” and claims children were asked leading questions.

He told the Echo “more credible” research carried out by academics, such as work conducted by clinical psychologist Dr David Ley, who claims there is no strong evidence to prove that a person can be addicted to pornography, has been overlooked by the charity.

Referring to alternative research, Dr Proctor said: “These pieces of research are being sidelined in what seems to be panic-mongering for no good reason.”

Referring to the Tory's pledge to introduce new legislation to protect children from accessing porn, he added: “What’s worse about the whole thing is that this is being used by the government to legislate.”

An NSPCC spokesman said: "We listen to the worries of children every day, including those about porn. What matters to us is that we address their concerns.

“We take a diverse approach in listening to young people's voices and this poll is part of a wide body of research.”