GROOMING crimes have fallen in North Yorkshire, with six incidents recorded in the past years.
West Yorkshire had the highest figures for Yorkshire and the Humber, with 58 crimes recorded.
The NSPCC is calling on Culture Secretary Matt Hancock to bring in regulation for social networks, including an independent regulator "with teeth". Facebook-owned apps were used in 52 per cent of crimes where methods were disclosed.
Tony Stower, NSPCC head of child safety online said: “These thousands of crimes show the sheer scale of grooming, where predators have either messaged their victim or gone on to meet them in person.
“At present our Government is only prepared to tackle grooming after the harm has been done, and its forthcoming Internet Safety Strategy has no plans to prevent grooming from happening in the first place.
“Culture Secretary Matt Hancock could change this and bring an end to the Wild West Web. I urge him to bring in regulation for social networks, backed by an independent regulator with teeth.”
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