PARENTS and carers are being encouraged to talk to their children about keeping safe online.

The NSPCC's Share Aware campaign follows a survey of 500 Mumsnet users, who were asked to visit a variety of websites to see how easy it is for under-13s to access them.

On more than 40 per cent of the sites, parents said they struggled to locate privacy, reporting and safety information, and more than three quarters said they found sexual, violent, or other inappropriate content on a variety of sites popular with young people.

The NSPCC has used the reviews to create a new online guide to help inform parents about the risks of different social networking sites used by children.

Local Assembly Member Paul Davies, who is supporting the campaign, said: "This is a very important project that helps to raise awareness of the dangers that the internet can pose to children.

"The Share Aware campaign aims to give parents the tools to feel confident to have conversations with their children about the internet, by providing a number of resources and guides about online sites such as social networks and even apps.”

He added: ” I would encourage parents across Pembrokeshire to take just a couple of minutes to read more about the NSPCC’s campaign at www.nspcc.org.uk/shareaware. This campaign will not only help parents talk to their children about staying safe online, but also encourage providers to take action to make their sites safer for children.”