GWENT Police have issued a safety warning following reports of sexually explicit pictures circulating on Snapchat.

The warning comes after a 16-year-old boy from Cwmbran was arrested on suspicion of possessing an indecent photograph / pseudo-photograph of a child.

He has since been released under investigation.

Inspector Phil O'Connell said: "We are continuing to receive reports from local residents in Gwent that there are sexually explicit photos circulating on Snapchat.

"Please be aware that the taking, making, sharing and possessing of indecent images and pseudo-photographs of people under 18 is illegal. This includes a child sending indecent images of themselves.

"During our enquiries we have arrested a 16 year old boy, from Cwmbran, on suspicion of possessing an indecent photograph / pseudo-photograph of a child. He has since been released under investigation while we continue to work through enquiries.

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"Information we have received is that young adults are possessing, making and sharing these indecent images with their peers. If you are involved in this, you are committing an offence and could be prosecuted.

"Those prosecuted, could also be subject to registering on the Sex Offenders Register.

"Many popular social media apps allow people to be tracked on a GPS mapping. Some precautionary steps to check on your child's phone for inappropriate content and checking on the privacy settings will go some way to ensuring that they are safeguarded from strangers making contact with them.

"We understand that the use of social media is an important part of daily life for many residents in Gwent, however, we want to ensure that people doing so, are using social media responsibly, respectfully and more importantly, legally. If you would like to report that a crime has taken place, please call 101 or in an emergency, dial 999. Alternatively you can send a direct message to our Gwent Police Facebook and Twitter social media pages."

If you would like more advice on safe social media use, Gwent Police have a number of helpful links on their website.