GROOMING crimes recorded by Hampshire police have soared by 19% according to data obtained by the NSPCC.

A total of 181 offences involving sexual communication with a child were logged in the year to April 2019 compared with 152 in the previous 12 months.

The figure for the whole of England and Wales was 4,373 - up from 3,217.

The data, obtained from 43 police forces under Freedom of Information laws, also revealed that many of the victims were aged 11 or younger.

A huge number of the offences were committed using social media.

The government has indicated it will publish a draft Online Harms Bill containing proposals for the independent regulation of social networks, with tough sanctions if they fail to keep children safe on their platforms.

The NSPCC wants ministers to implement "robust" regulation which will force tech firms to protect youngsters.

Peter Wanless, the NSPCC's chief executive, said: “It’s now clearer than ever that government has no time to lose in getting tough on these tech firms.

“Despite the huge amount of pressure social networks have come under to put basic protections in place, children are being groomed and abused on their platforms every single day.

"These figures are yet more evidence that social networks simply won’t act unless they are forced to by law. The government needs to stand firm and bring in regulation without delay.”

One the case studies provided by the charity involved a 12-year-old girl who was staying at a friend's house when a stranger bombarded her Instagram account with sexual messages and videos.

Her mum told the NSPCC: “She was quiet and seemed on edge when she came home the next day. I noticed her shaking and knew there was something wrong so encouraged her to tell me what the problem was.

“When she showed me the messages, I just felt sick. It was such a violation and he was so persistent. He knew she was 12, but he kept bombarding her with texts and explicit videos and images. Freya* didn’t even understand what she was looking at. There were pages and pages of messages, he just didn’t give up.

“Our children should be safe in their bedrooms, but they’re not. They should be safe from messages from strangers if their accounts are on private, but they’re not.”