SEXTING and sharing nude selfies is partly responsible for a huge increase in the number of teenagers being reported to police for possession of indecent images of children.

Around 100 people under the age of 18 in the North-East and North Yorkshire have been reported during the last three years, according to figures obtained by the children’s charity the NSPCC.

The figures suggest that around 20 per cent of all people investigated for possession of indecent images of children are themselves still in their teens, many of them sharing pictures with a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Across the country, the charity found an alarming rise in the overall number of cases coming to light, with the total number of cases more than doubling to 10,818 last year.

Of those in which the age of the accused was recorded, 2,031 of those found in possession of such material were under the age of 18.

Across the three-year period, there were 113 individuals reported to police in Cleveland, of which 21 were under 18s.

In North Yorkshire, there were 19 teenagers investigated out of a total of 204 cases between 2013 and 2015, while Northumbria Police investigated 252 cases but were unable to provide data on the age of the defendants involved.

However, County Durham and Darlington experienced the highest proportion of young defendants. The number of offences reported to police rose from 34 in 2013 to 85 in 2015, a total of 175 cases over the three-year period, of which 54 involved people under the age of 18.

Following today’s publication of the figures, the NSPCC is urging parents to talk to their children about the dangers of sharing nude selfies which they say “may be partly fuelling the rise in offences by under-18s”.

A recent survey by the charity revealed that only half of parents knew that children sharing such pictures were committing a crime.

It is calling on internet companies to develop technological solutions to deal with the problem, help to allow young people to remove nude selfies from the internet, more support for child victims and more treatment for offenders to reduce their future risk to children.

NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless said: “Over the last two decades, digital technology has fuelled an explosion in the production and consumption of child sexual abuse images that increasingly involves the streaming of live video”.

He added: “The internet industry must prioritise this issue by committing their expertise and work with the public and voluntary sector to find solutions.

“As well as pursuing and deterring adults who make and distribute these we must educate children about how to keep themselves safe online and offline and how to get help as soon as grooming or abuse happens.

“Every child who is the victim of exploitation and abuse should get the support they need to rebuild their lives.”