THE internet has been blamed for a spike in the number of under 18s committing sexual offences.

Essex Police has released figures showing the shocking increase in the amount of sexual offences being committed by children.

The figures came after a Freedom of Information request by the Chelmsford Weekly News show there were 111 arrests for sexual offences in the last year, compared with 53 in 2012.

Over a four-year the period which has shown a year-on-year rise in almost all categories- nearly 200 juveniles, some as young as ten, were arrested for rape.

Roy Whitehead, leader of Chelmsford Council said he is surprised by the high figures.

He added: "I think that the way that people can easily be contacted online could contribute to these figures.

"I understand that Essex Police are doing what they can to target hot spots where these crimes are taking place. I think that a good way to tackle things like this is by going into schools and educating young people about the dangers.

"These are certainly worrying statistics that no city wants to be thinking about or dealing with.

"I do not think that the Chelmsford area is free from problems like this.

The figures, which cover the number of arrests between July and August, show one ten-year-old boy was arrested last year for the rape of a child aged under 13, while another was questioned about the sexual assault of a girl over the age of 13.

There were eight 14-year-olds arrested for raping girls under 13, with a total of 46 rape offences recorded in total.

Other 14-year-olds were arrested for possession of indecent images of children and two 16-year-olds were detained on suspicion of child grooming.

An NSPCC spokesman said many of the perpetrators may also have been victims themselves.

He said: “Children accused of sexual offences have often been victims of abuse, harm and trauma themselves.

“And the ever-growing availability of online porn is also having a de-sensitising effect on many children, with some wanting to copy what they see.

The statistics are backed up by figures released by the Crown Prosecution Service, following a separate Freedom of Information request by the Thurrock Gazette.

Between July 2013 and March 2016, the number of youths prosecuted by the CPS for sex offences more than doubled, from 23 in 2013 to 49 in 2015-16.

In total, the CPS took 119 juveniles to court, including 38 for rape, 15 for sexual assault and 13 for sexual assault of a girl under 13.There were also three prosecutions for making indecent images of children, with an overall conviction rate of 73 per cent.