Kent highest in South East for online grooming cases

Kent has ranked the highest in the South East for the number of online grooming crimes.

Data by the NSPCC found over the last year there were 264 cases of grooming in the county a rise by over thirty on the previous year, when there were 230.

This year is the highest number Kent has seen since data started being collected in 2017/18.

Across the rest of the South East, Sussex recorded 233 cases, while Surrey and Hampshire recorded 98 and 95.

Rebekah Hipkiss is a supervisor at Childline, she said: "It would be easier to get social media platforms to implement a way of making sure this isn't taking place and to interfere earlier in the journey between the groomer and the victim.

"Since the law first came into be, it doesn't seem like it makes a huge amount of difference to the young people we are taking to new. Any new platform should be designed with the safety of children in mind and be aware that this is a way that predators target our young people.

"It's very difficult to report through these platforms and young people generally feel it should be made earlier for them to report inappropriate behaviour and images. "