ROMSEY’S MP is backing a campaign to stop grooming of children in its tracks.

Caroline Nokes has thrown her support behind the NSPCC Flaw in the Law campaign to make it a crime for an adult to send a sexual message to a child.

The campaign comes as ChildLine, a service run by the NSPCC, saw a 168 per cent increase in the number of children counselled about online sexual abuse last year.

The campaign is seeking an amendment to the Serious Crime Bill, which is soon to receive its Second Reading in the Commons.

Ms Nokes said: “Given the alarming rise in online child abuse, it is very concerning that the current law is unable to adequately protect children.”

The law in this area hasn’t kept up with the way that abusers are using the internet, claim the NSPCC.

The law only covers situations where it can be proved that the adult intends to meet a child. However, increasingly abusers online have no intention of a child and abusing them physically, say the NSPCC.

Sharon Copsey, head of service for the NSPCC in the South West, said: “We shouldn’t have to wait for an offender to meet a child before the law steps in. Without clarity in the law, vital opportunities to stop abusers grooming young people online are being missed and in many cases the police and powerless to act.”