THE NUMBER of potential paedophiles going online for help to stop looking at vile abuse images has jumped by a third in a year.

The Lucy Faithfull Foundation, which runs support organisation Stop it Now! said more than 190 Wiltshire people had logged on to the website or contacted the helpline in the first six months of 2019.

That number was up 34 per cent on the same period last year.

Donald Findlater, director of the Stop It Now! helpline, said: “The growing numbers of people contacting us for help to stop viewing sexual images of under 18s sheds light on the scale of the problem, but also shows that many users of material they call 'child pornography' are worried about their behaviour and want help to change.

“And they do need to change. Viewing and sharing these illegal images has enormous consequences for them in the form of possible arrest, imprisonment, being on the sex offenders register, and losing friends and family. There are also enormous consequences for the people around them, family members in particular. And more important still are the children in the sexual images who are harmed when they are first made and when they are viewed or shared again."

Viewing child sex abuse images and video is an offence taken very seriously by the courts.

The punishment for those convicted of possession of indecent images of children can expect a sentence ranging from a community order and unpaid work to three years in prison.

Det Supt Deb Smith of Wiltshire Police said: “Viewing and sharing these images is a serious problem that isn’t going away. The Lucy Faithfull Foundation provides invaluable support and guidance to help people change their own online behaviour or to get a loved one to stop their illegal online behaviour.

“We take all reports of this nature very seriously and we work closely with our partners to do all we can to bring offenders to justice and provide support to victims and their families.

"We also have a dedicated child internet exploitation team that deals with offenders engaging in viewing and sharing indecent images of children online."

Earlier this month, Swindon Crown Court heard that Park South paedophile Grant Morton had turned to the Stop it Now! website for support to address his vile interest in underage girls. The 46-year-old used hidden cameras to film teen girls in bed and in the bathroom as they stayed at his home.

Emma Handlsip, Morton's lawyer, said:“He does feel shame. He says, ‘I am ashamed to see what started out at a very young age looking at normal pornography has snowballed into what it is today.'

Call Stop it Now! on 0808 1000 900 or visit www.stopitnow.org.uk.