Welsh children contact ChildLine over pornography fears

ChildLine says watching pornography is part of 'every-day life' for many children

Welsh children have contacted ChildLine to express concerns about their exposure to pornography.

The charity's offices in Cardiff and Prestatyn received separate calls from boys who were worried about the effect pornography was having on them.

ChildLine has launched a campaign to tackle what it calls the "shocking" number of 12 to 13-year-olds afraid they are "addicted to porn".

One of the Welsh youngsters said pornography made him feel "perverted".

The children's counselling charity - which is calling its campaign the Fight Against Porn Zombies - said a UK-wide poll of 700 children showed that one in five had seen pornographic images that shocked or upset them.

'I'm scared'

One boy who spoke with a counsellor at the charity's Cardiff base said: "I've started to view girls a bit differently recently and it's making me worried.

"I would like to get married in the future but I'm scared it might never happen if I carry on thinking about girls the way I do."

Another youngster who contacted the Prestatyn office said: "I can't help looking at girls in a sexual way and I think it's because I watch a lot of porn."

Des Mannion, NSPCC national head of service for Wales, said: "Children of all ages today have easy access to a wide range of pornography and if we as a society shy away from talking about this issue, then we are failing the thousands of young people it is affecting."