Children are increasingly being groomed over the internet for the sole purpose of online sexual abuse, research by a child protection watchdog suggests.

Only 7% of the 1,145 online abuse cases reported to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in 2012 involved people trying to meet a child.

Ceop said offenders may target hundreds of victims at a time, and described the abuse as an "alarming new trend".

The organisation said parents needed to talk to their children about the issue.