Child protection experts say unprecedented numbers of teenagers are sharing sexually explicit images with each other and then posting them online.
Ministers have called it a 'worrying trend' that 38% of children between the ages of 11 and 17 have received an inappropriate message either through text, email or internet messaging.
Research from Beatbullying found that among those youngsters, 70% admitted that they knew who had sent it.
Amber Slamaker, 16, once posted suggestive pictures of herself to a social networking site but it led to unwanted attention from strangers and approaches from men looking to 'groom' her for sex.
She eventually managed to get the pictures deleted but knows many friends who have done similar things, usually when they have low self-esteem and are looking for attention.
