DAME Esther Rantzen has visited Dorset to raise awareness of the work of Childline and the NSPCC.

The journalist and television presenter attended a lunch in aid of Childline, the charity she founded, where she met guests, local NSPCC fundraising volunteers and interviewed Cherie Wheatcroft, a woman who was sexually abused by Jimmy Savile in the 1970s.

Cherie, who spoke to the Echo at length about her ordeal - which included sexual abuse by medical professionals as well as vile Savile - said her story may have been different if Childline was available in her youth.

Dame Esther, who became a household name while hosting the hit BBC television series That’s Life, says parents and young people need to be educated about dangers of the internet.

Speaking as latest figures show reports of sexual assaults by children on other children are rising, she said: “Certainly Childline has found an enormous increase in online grooming and sexting.

“The internet, I say, it is a bit like a car. More people are killed and injured every year by cars rather than anything else. But without the car we wouldn’t have the same capacity to explore the world. So what we had to do was learn the highway code, learn the rules, educate ourselves about the dangers, and try and make it as safe as we can.”

Exactly the same is true about the internet. It can be a huge source of danger, she added.

“Young people are particularly susceptible to cyber bullying, but at the same time 72 per cent of contacts made to Childline are made online. So the internet is also liberating young people and enabling them to find help. We just have to learn to keep them safe.”

The lunch, at Dudsbury Golf Club, Ferndown, yesterday, included stalls selling art and gifts in aid of the NSPCC. After lunch Dame Esther spoke to Cherie on stage.

On the dangers of internet grooming Dame Esther said: “Imagine your 15-year-old daughter is in her bedroom. Then a stranger walks in the house, upstairs to her room without you knowing who he was or what he wanted. You would not allow that - but that is what is happening on the internet.

“That is why parents have a responsibility to know what their children are doing online.”

Contact Childline free on 0800 1111 or visit childline.org.uk