Children as young as six have been questioned by police over 'sexting'

• Figures show 500% increase in the number of children arrested for sexting
• Children as young as 6 questioned by police over sending indecent images
• Details of growing trend published by police forces in England and Wales
• Campaigners voiced concerns pictures may fall into hands of paedophiles

Children as young as six have been questioned by police in the wake of a 500 per cent increase in the number of those arrested for 'sexting', it has emerged.

New figures show that since 2012 more than 1,000 children have been spoken to by police in connection with the sharing of indecent photos via mobile phones, Facebook and Snapchat.

It has led campaigners to express concerns about the growing trend amid fears that the pictures may fall into the hands of paedophiles.

Worrying trend: Children as young as six have been questioned by police in the wake of a 500 per cent increase in the number of those arrested for sexting, it has emerged

The number of probes into under-18s making, possessing or distributing indecent images has risen from 150 in 2012 to 742 in the past year, according to Tom Morgan at The Sun.

A Freedom of Information request revealed that a quarter of those arrested were under 13.

Figures were released by 22 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales, but that did not include the Metropolitan Police or Greater Manchester - the two biggest forces.

A spokesman for the NSPCC told The Sun: 'We don't want to see children criminalised.

'But while many of them may see sexting as harmless fun it is illegal and can leave young people vulnerable to blackmail and bullying or attract the attention of sex offenders as the images may get shared online.' 

Concerning: New figures show that since 2012 more than 1,000 children have been spoken to by police in connection with the sharing of indecent photos via mobile phones, Facebook and Snapchat (file photo)

It comes a week after millions of schoolchildren were warned they could end up on a police database for life for texting a naked photo of themselves.

Police chiefs said a teenager’s name would be stored for up to 100 years if an officer was told the child had sent an explicit image.

Any child under 18 caught ‘sexting’ could even be prosecuted and placed on the sex offenders’ register.

At least four police forces have confirmed that children have been the subject of criminal investigations for sending naked selfies.

Details of the worrying increase in the UK followed a survey published last month which revealed that half of Australian teenagers have used their mobile phone to distribute a sexually explicit photograph of themselves.

The research, carried out by the Australian Institute of Criminology, found that 15 per cent of teenage boys and ten per cent of teenage girls surveyed had sexted more than five people, while 20 per cent admitted to showing a private image they had received to a third party.

Surprisingly, the survey indicated that teenage girls were more likely to send a sexually explicit message because they find it 'fun and sexy' and not because they feel pressured by boys to do so, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The teenage girls surveyed said they were also motivated to participate in sexting because it made them feel confident and more attractive, while many said they wanted to give someone a 'sexy present'.

It was reported that only 13 per cent of respondents said they felt pressured to send a sexually explicit image.

Boys and girls appeared to have similar reasons for engaging in the act, however unlike girls, the males surveyed said they were more motivated to send pictures of a sexual nature if they had already received one.