CHILD grooming cases have doubled across the West Mercia Police force area over the last five years, figures reveal.

Data from the Home Office reveals how there were 22 cases of adults grooming youngsters by meeting them in person during the 12-month period to the end of March.

That compared to 11 cases of meet-ups during the same timeframe of 2011/12, leading to concern from child safety campaigners.

Across England and Wales, the total has risen from 371 in the year to March 2012 to 1,021 five years later - the biggest rise on record.

A new law comes into force today giving the force power to halt grooming sooner, with it now illegal to send sexual messages to children.

The NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) pressured the Government into changing the legislation, with Justice Secretary Lis Truss giving it her backing.

From today online grooming is a crime, meaning police will be able to arrest anyone who sends a 'sexual message' to a child, with the perpetrators facing up to two years in jail.

NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless said: "The Justice Secretary has done the right thing.

"This is a victory for the 50,000 people who supported the NSPCC’s 'Flaw in the Law' campaign, it is a victory for common sense.

"Children should be as safe online as they are offline, wherever they are in the UK.

"This law will give police the powers they need to protect children from online grooming, and to intervene sooner to stop abuse before it starts."

Across West Mercia, from April 2011 to the end of last month there were 60 reports of grooming cases where adults had met with their child victims.

Detective Chief Inspector Vikki Reay, from West Mercia Police said: "We know there has been an increase in people using the internet to intentionally communicate with children under 16, where the communication is sexual.

"The new law will allow us to protect more children in this modern age of communication, and bring to justice those people who use the internet to groom and those who trawl social media and gaming sites looking for people to target and exploit."

The force has launched a new campaign called 'Tell Someone' to encourage young people being abused to speak out.