MORE than 60 online grooming offences have been recorded by police in Dorset in just 18 months, a children's charity has revealed.

Data obtained by the NSPCC shows that across England and Wales, police recorded more than 5,000 online grooming crimes between April 2017 and September 2018.

Dorset Police recorded a total of 66 offences during that period.

The use of Instagram in cases of internet grooming has seen a worrying rise, and girls in their early teens are most likely to be targeted by groomers according to the charity.

From April 2017 to September 2017, where the communication method was recorded, Instagram was used by groomers in 126 instances, whereas between April 2018 and September 2018 it was recorded 428 times – more than a 200 per cent increase.

Freedom of Information (FOI) responses obtained by the NSPCC from 39 of the 43 forces in England and Wales, reveal that in the latest six month period, girls aged 12 to 15 were most likely to be targeted by groomers and victims included children as young as five years old.

The NSPCC is now urging ministers bring in regulation to enforce a legal duty of care to children on social networks, backed by hefty fines if they fail, ahead of the publication of the government’s Online Harms White Paper.

Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, said: "We cannot wait for the next tragedy before tech companies are made to act. It is hugely concerning to see the sharp spike in grooming offences on Instagram, and it is vital that the platform designs basic protection more carefully into the service it offers young people."

Emily (not her real name) was 13 when she was groomed online by a 24-year-old man. She first met him in person because he was dating an older girl she knew. He had introduced himself and initially said he was 16, which quickly changed to 18. She told him she was 13. Later that evening he added her on Facebook and Snapchat.

Emily said: "It escalated very quickly from there. We exchanged texts which quickly became sexual, then photos and videos before arranging for him to come and pick me up after school. He drove me somewhere quiet… and took me into the woods and had sex with me. He drove me in the direction of home straight afterwards, refusing to even talk, and then kicked me out of the car at the traffic lights. I was bleeding and crying. This was my first sexual experience."

Emily’s mother Wendy (not her real name) said she felt like they had "failed as parents", and that "if social media didn’t exist, this would never have happened to Emily."

Police revealed which methods groomers used in 1,317 instances, and records show Instagram was used in 32 per cent, Facebook in 23 per cent and Snapchat in 14 per cent of those instances.