Facebook has topped a list of sites used by sick groomers sending children sex messages, with Thames Valley Police (TVP) recording 70 crimes in nine months.

The social media giant and apps owned by it were used in more than half of online grooming cases where police disclosed the method that predators used, an NSPCC investigation has revealed.

The NSPCC’s figures showed TVP recorded 70 crimes in the first nine months of a new offence – sexual communication with a child – being introduced.

But the children's charity said force did not provide it with a breakdown of sites used by paedophiles to contact children and young people.

That figure reached 1,628 around England and Wales, and police revealed what platform was used in 956 cases.

Facebook and apps it owns – Instagram and Whatsapp – were used in 52 per cent of those cases, with Facebook being the most recorded site overall.

The NSPCC said figures from various Freedom of Information requests showed the “shocking” number of cases where groomers used Facebook and apps owned by Facebook.

The youngest victim recorded was aged just two years old.

Where the method of communication used by predators was logged by police, Facebook was used in a third (32.6 per cent) of cases and Instagram and Whatsapp were used in almost a fifth (19.8 per cent), while Snapchat was the second most used app, with 176 cases logged.

Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport heralded the end of the Wild West Web, and the NSPCC is urging him to follow through by bringing in a regulator to force social networks to keep children safe.

Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, said Matt Hancock, secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport had “heralded” the end of the “Wild West Web”, and the NSPCC was now urging him to “follow through” by bringing in a regulator to force social networks to keep children safe.

He said: “Matt Hancock has a golden opportunity to put an end to the Wild West Web and force social networks to protect children online.

“Facebook has shown it is happy to use data for commercial purposes, but has failed to harness data in a way that can be used to prevent grooming.

“Facebook should be leading the way, but instead it has demonstrated time and again that self-regulation isn’t working and social networks can’t be left to mark their own homework.

“Mr Hancock could be the person who makes the internet a safer place, for every child now and in the future. We hope he seizes the chance to do that.”