More than a third of secondary school pupils have received intimate or sexually explicit photos - known as 'sexts' - on their mobile phones, according to a new survey.

A survey of just over 2,000 11-18-year-olds in England by charity Beatbullying found that 38% of those surveyed had received a sexually explicit or distressing text or email.

Nearly half (45%) of messages were from friends, with 23% from a current boyfriend or girlfriend and 2% from adults.

According to the survey, 70% of those who had received a message knew who the sender was.

Under British law, although it is legal to have sex at 16, it is illegal to take, hold or share 'indecent' photos of anyone under 18.

A number of charges related to such incidents have already been brought in both Australia and the US.

Emma-Jane Cross, Chief Executive of Beatbullying, said: "We don't want to inhibit young people in their exploration of sexuality, but it is important that parents and schools are aware that sexting is a significant issue amongst our children and young people, so together we can act to stop this kind of behaviour before it escalates into something far more problematic.

"This is about campaigning for the rights of our young people and for digital safety. We need to address the fact that sexual peer to peer contact is being exponentially facilitated through new technologies.

"We need to take series note of what has happened in the US and Australia. To avoid similar cases here, politicians must work together with organisations like Beatbullying to create an intervention and prevention task force in schools and communities," she said.

"This needs to be part of the solution if we are to educate our young people, teachers and families about the consequences of their actions and how to keep safe online as well as offline."

(KMcA/BMcC)