More than 100 Shropshire child porn addicts seek help

Figures unveiled by the confidential help service 'Stop it Now! Get Help' show that 109 viewers from the region visited the website in the last 12 months to access online help to stop either their own viewing of online sexual images of children, or that of a loved one.

The charity said 44 were from Shrewsbury, 38 from Telford and Wrekin, and 27 from other parts of the county. In the same period, another eight men telephoned the listening ear sex abuse service that offers support to those worried about their own online sexual behaviour. Seven people phoned about friends or relatives.

The project was set up by child protection charity the Lucy Faithfull Foundation which also provides information for partners and friends of people arrested or suspected of looking at child abuse images.

Steve Davies, the charity's project manager, said: "For many years the Stop it Now team have worked with thousands of men who have been arrested for viewing sexual images of children.

"The majority of men tell us that being arrested was a real wake-up call and were actually glad the police had intervened. Many knew what they were doing was wrong, but really struggled to change their abusive online behaviour on their own. That's where our work at Stop it Now comes in.

"We work with these men to help them understand the harm they have caused the children in these images, and the serious consequences for them and their families if they don't get to grips with their online behaviour. Once they understand this, they become far less likely to re-offend.

"But there are still tens of thousands of men out there now viewing sexual images of under 18s. We need to get to them too, to help them understand what they are doing is illegal and incredibly harmful to the children and young people in the images – and importantly to stop."

In Staffordshire 241 people sought help online, 26 phoned and 17 phoned on behalf of a loved one. In the West Midlands 912 used the website and 78 the helpline.

Chris Singer, West Mercia Police Assistant Chief Constable, said: "Changing offending behaviour is a critical part of efforts to reduce the sexual exploitation of children, and Stop It Now has proved to be a very effective tool to help offenders and potential offenders step away from the path they are on, and gain access to the help that they need to address their behaviours.

"The fact that other people can also use the service where they have concerns is also critically important, helping to create an environment where the safety of children is the primary concern, and where those who are having inappropriate thoughts about sexual behaviour with children can be afforded the opportunity to change."

More details are available at get-help.stopitnow.org.uk