Online child sex crimes in Kent have increased by 50% - compared to last year.

Data obtained by the NSPCC shows the number of online child sex offences recorded by the county's police force rose from 490 in 2018/19 to 735 in 2019/20.

These figures, revealed by a freedom of information request, have prompted the children's charity to urge the government to push forward with the online Harms Bill.

The bill would place a legal duty of care on tech firms to protect youngsters, enforced by an independent regulator.

The data from Kent Police reflects the number of sexual offences against under 18-year-olds that had a cyber-flag attached to them between 1 April 2019 to 31 March this year.

Nationally, 10,391 child sex crimes were recorded with a cyber flag by all UK forces in 2019/20, a 16% rise on the previous year.

That takes the total number of recorded offences in the five years since it became mandatory to record whether a crime involved the internet to more than 37,000.

In Kent, that figure stands at 2,178 online child sex crimes.

However, this figure is likely to significantly understate the true extent of the problem due to potential under-recording by police forces of the role of the internet and variation in the way forces log these crimes.

A mum from Kent, who we have decided to call Lyn, has spoken about what happened after her 13-year-old daughter, who we are calling Emily, met a 24-year-old man pretending to be 18.

After approaching Emily while dating one of her older, 15-year-old friends, the man added her on Facebook and Snapchat, where they exchanged photos and messages.

He arranged to meet her for sex, afterwards blocking her on all platforms leaving Emily distressed and confused. After bragging about it to friends, an anonymous tip-off led to his arrest and conviction.

Lyn said: "The police investigation took two years while our lives were on hold. Emily started self-harming.

"On her 14th birthday she ended up standing on Rochester Bridge contemplating suicide..."

"On her 14th birthday she ended up standing on Rochester Bridge contemplating suicide. It took so long for it to come to trial which was a nightmare for us.

"When I’ve seen stories of children being abused, I’ve thought ‘where were the parents? How could they not know? That wouldn’t happen to me’ and then here you are and it’s happened to you and it’s devastating.

"It’s easy for parents’ to make judgements but we tried everything to keep her safe and it was just impossible.

"Somebody has got to take responsibility for what happens to these children on their platforms. Simply put, if social media didn’t exist, this would never have happened.

"Until she got on Facebook and Snapchat, we knew who her friends were and who she was socialising with.

"It used to be the parents’ responsibility to keep them safe but that ability has been stolen from us. Technology is changing too quickly and no one can keep up.

"We’re trading our children’s safety for these companies to get rich and something needs to change."

The government published the Online Harms White Paper in April 2019 but is still yet to produce the final consultation response.

The NSPCC is calling on the government to publish its final plans for the bill by the end of the year, and get it on on the statue book by the end of next year.

Andy Burrows, NSPCC head of child safety online policy, said: “These figures suggest that online abuse was already rising before lockdown, and the risks to children appear to have spiked significantly since.

“It is now almost 17 months since the government’s original proposals for social media regulation were published and children continue to face preventable harm online.

“At the Hidden Harms Summit, the prime minister signalled he was determined to act.

"That’s why he needs to prioritise making progress on a comprehensive Online Harms Bill this autumn, and pass legislation by the end of 2021, that sees tech firms held criminally and financially accountable if they put children at risk.”

Boris Johnson hosted the Hidden Harms Summit from Downing Street in May, focussing on how to tackle crimes, such as domestic abuse, sexual abuse and child sexual abuse, which may have been impacted by the coronavirus lockdown .

It was revealed in August that child sexual abuse has more than doubled in just five years with 62 youngsters being attacked every week , according to Kent Police figures.

Adults concerned about a child online can contact the NSPCC Helpline confidentially for advice and support on 0808 8005000 or email help@nspcc.org.uk.

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