FEARS that sex offenders could argue they thought they were talking to an adult when chatting to underage teenagers on social media has prompted a warning from police.

Wiltshire Police have urged parents to ensure that their children’s social media accounts reflect their real ages – especially if the children were signed up to accounts many years ago.

A spokesman said: “We know that many children are using social media when ‘officially’ they are too young to sign up to the sites – we know because they tell us.

“Lots of them say that mums and dads have signed them up – sometimes years ago. There’s nothing illegal in that, but please keep in mind that if you signed your 8 year old up to Facebook five years ago - saying they were 13 years old – they now appear as an 18 year old on the site.

“If an adult tries to groom your now 13 year old via social media, they will be able to argue that they thought they were talking to another adult.

“Remember to update their details, check their privacy settings, and talk to them about which pictures they use for their profile, so they’re safe online.”

At the age of 13, children can sign up to have their own accounts on Facebook, twitter, Instagram, Pintrest, Google+, Tumblr, Reddit, Snapchat and Secret.

At 14 they can have a LinkedIn profile, but will have to wait until they are 16 to have access to WhatsApp.

Vine and Tinder are open to 17 year olds, but teenagers have to be 18 in order to have access to YouTube, Keek, FourSquare, WeChat, Kik and Flikr.