A POLICE officer is campaigning to get computers out of children's bedrooms and into family areas in a bid to make using the internet safer

A POLICE officer is campaigning to get computers out of children's bedrooms and into family areas in a bid to make using the internet safer.Andy Bibbings, the police community beat officer for Cleeve, Claverham and Yatton has already spoken to over 2,500 school pupils in North Somerset about how to use the internet safely.He is now planning to speak to parents about how young people can be vulnerable to those using the internet for dubious purposes.A presentation for parents will be held on March 9 at Backwell Comprehensive School from 7.30-8.30pm and PC Bibbings is urging parents to attend. He said: "I am hoping that parents will consider taking computers back into the family realm, where they can be properly policed."It is vitally important that parents come along to this week's meeting and make themselves aware of the danger their children may be in every time they log on to their computer."Children can become vulnerable when they are online and their personal information is there for all to see. "Parents need to be aware of the dangers of the internet to children who are using it without being monitored and how they and their children can go about reporting abuse."There are those that will actively seek out children when they are online, including paedophiles, and the idea of holding the presentations to schools and parents is to raise awareness and promote caution when using computers."During the presentation PC Bibbings will be promoting the use of the website www.thinkuknow.co.uk, which is run by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and offers internet safety tips. The CEOP works across the UK and also uses international links to tackle child sex abuse by providing internet safety advice for parents and carers. The site also has a virtual police station for reporting abuse on the internet.