THE grooming of a 13-year-old girl by scores of men highlights the dangers of not knowing what your child is doing on-line, police and child protection charities warned last night.

Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Mason, head of crime at North Yorkshire Police, said parents were the first line of defence in keeping children safe on the internet.

“You don’t need to be worried about this every moment of your working life, but you need to take an interest in what your children are doing on-line and test that,” he said.

“To be a little bit more intrusive of their private lives is better than picking up the pieces.”

The abuse of the teenager was condemned by Claude Knights, chief executive of national child safety charity Kidscape.

She said: “We welcome the fact that the sentences given to these men sends out a message that grooming children on-line is unacceptable. These are very, very serious crimes.

“I think this case reinforces the message that parents should talk to their children about their online activity and should increase their own knowledge of the internet.”

Jonathan Baggaley, head of education at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), said the emotional impact of sexual abuse could be devastating.

“A number of young people have attempted suicide as a result of finding themselves in this situation.

“To help prevent further harm, CEOP is calling on parents and carers to talk to their children about this type of crime and to support them to come forward should they find themselves in difficulty.”

If you are concerned that your child or a child you have contact with is being exploited, please call the police on 101, or call 999 in an emergency.