CHILDREN in County Durham have found themselves in trouble with police after sharing indecent images of each other on Snapchat, it has been revealed. .

They are now suspects of possessing images of a child and for creating an image of a child, despite being children themselves.

Durham Police says the youngsters were "shocked" to learn that their crimes would be recorded. The alarm was raised in the Bishop Auckland area.

Officers are now warning others that they can be prosecuted for making and sharing similar images and placed on the sex offenders' register.

A spokesperson for the force said: "The law is clear – if you are caught looking at sexual images of under 18s, you could be arrested, prosecuted and placed on the sex offenders' register.

"We all want to do the right thing online. Here’s how. Sexual images or videos of under 18s are illegal. It doesn’t matter how old the person looks, this is the law. No ifs, no buts.

"You can be prosecuted for taking, making, sharing and possessing sexual images of under 18s, even if you thought that they looked older."

This can include:

• opening an attachment to an email containing an image

• downloading an image from a website onto a computer screen

• storing an image in a directory on a computer

• accessing a website in which images appeared by way of an automatic “pop up” mechanism"

To learn more visit https://stoponlinechildsexualabuse.campaign.gov.uk.