Stop it Now! Scotland is aiming to prevent people from looking at sexual images of children on the internet

A campaign which aims to help people stop looking at inappropriate images of children has seen a significant rise in users.

Scotland'sStop it Now! website had 953 visits from people in Scotland in the three months from June, up from 556 in the previous three months.

There has also been an increase in the number of people from Scotland calling the Stop it Now! helpline, up from 30 to 55 over the same period.

The campaign aims to prevent child sexual abuse by increasing public awareness and encouraging potential abusers to seek help.

The support service is run by the The Lucy Faithfull Foundation with support from police, health officials and experts.

Project national manager Stuart Allardyce said the increase is likely to be down to publicity around the campaign.

He said: "Stop it Now! Scotland is determined to protect children from abuse and the devastating impact of having their image repeatedly shared across the internet.

"The best way to do this is to deter people from looking at these images in the first place, and to get those who are looking to stop.

"What our campaign shows is that when you make people aware that help is available to stop, people will take up that offer of help.”

DCI Martin MacLean of Police Scotland's public protection unit said: "The results of this preventative campaign are very encouraging, demonstrating that offenders or potential offenders do want help to stop.

"Every time a sexual image of a child is viewed, that child is re-victimised and further demand is created for indecent images.

"It is therefore vital that we work closely with partners and use all available resources to protect children and, wherever possible, prevent offending.”