A CHILD using the internet could be just three mouse clicks away from danger.

Youngsters could unwittingly post personal information allowing sexual predators to find out their address via three – or less – online searches.

Parents with less knowledge about new technology than their offspring may have no idea how to protect them – but a few simple actions could make a huge difference.

That was the message given to more than 3,500 people including police officers, teachers and foster carers via a series of internet safety events this week.

Detective Superintendent Martin Lakeman, who is head of public protection, told them: “The internet is an amazing place but just like any amazing place there are risks.

“There is a perception that some people in Worcester think the world wide web ends at the end of St John’s. It doesn’t.

“It’s a dangerous place unless you know the rules and are supervised.”

He challenged schools to lead internet safety campaigns and said: “It’s the responsibility of schools under safeguarding to provide leadership and do it.

“Local policing teams will reinforce it with them.”

Mr Lakeman showed delegates a typical 15-year-old’s profile by a fictional youngster called Lisa Marie, supposedly from Coventry.She posted: “I love dancing. Every Saturday morning I go to a hip hop dance class at my local sports centre.”

Delegates were shown how the girl’s address could be found via the electoral roll and a quick search for leisure centres in the area could pinpoint her exact location on Saturdays.

Mr Lakeman said where youngsters had webcams, a single click could allow a predator access to their bedrooms.

He also pointed out that people online were not necessarily who they claimed to be and that youngsters often agreed to link their profiles with those of their friends’ friends – people they had never met.

A survey of Worcestershire youngsters showed 61 per cent chatted via the internet and 43 per cent of those surveyed used their computers alone in their bedrooms. Mr Lakeman said parents could take three simple steps: l Check who their children had accepted as friends and delete anyone they did not know in the real world.

l Set up privacy settings so photographs and personal information could only be seen by trusted individuals.

l Put the computer at the heart of the family in a communal room.

He said: “In real life you would protect your children.

“Why not protect them on the internet?

“There are a lot of people with an unhealthy interest in children who are looking to use the internet to groom and abuse children.”

Cyber-bullying was also discussed and some police officers said they had seen an increase in complaints related to social networking sites such as Facebook.

Mr Lakeman said: “In today’s society there’s no escape.

“The phone keeps ringing, they keep texting and if you turn it off they are waiting for you when you turn it back on.”

However, he referred to the case of Keeley Houghton, an 18-year-old from Malvern, who was jailed for three months after threatening to kill another girl via Facebook.

He said: “In Worcestershire we are really proud of this conviction because it’s the first one nationally.

“We hope it will encourage people to step forward.”

Mr Lakeman said adults should also consider their actions on the internet as personnel teams – including those at West Mercia Police – would filter out potential candidates with inappropriate comments or photographs posted online.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Lakeman said his presentation followed two years of work with safeguarding children’s boards.

He said: ”Not everybody who is on the internet is a paedophile, not by any means. What we are saying is if you know the safety rules you can prevent it from happening.” More safety information is available at thinkuknow.co.uk/parents or childnet.com.