AN ONLINE safety campaign aimed at teenagers has been launched by North Yorkshire Police in a bid to tackle sexual exploitation.

The Keep it to your Selfie campaign urges teenagers to think about the consequences of sharing images via social media and other methods.

It is estimated as many as 75,000 paedophiles are online at any one time, making it vitally important young people know exactly who they are talking to on the internet.

Police have produced three videos to support the campaign, aimed at young people aged between 11 and 18.

One video will be released each week for the next three weeks via North Yorkshire Police’s social media.

Detective Chief Inspector Matt Walker, head of cybercrime, said the force has to make young people aware that the internet and social media is a place where paedophiles can groom children by posing as someone else.

“I hope the videos we have produced can help young people stop and think about what they are doing before posting anything online,” he said.

“People share images and information in the virtual world that they wouldn’t dream of sharing in the real world and we need to make young people think about that.

“It is also important to bear in mind that once you have shared an image online you lose control of it, you don’t know where it will end up or whose hands it will fall into. You might think you are only sharing it with one person but do you know who they are going to share it with?”

For more information visit North Yorkshire Police’s Facebook page; www.facebook.com/NorthYorkshirePolice or see the video releases on; www.Youtube/NorthYorkshirePolice.