5000 children under the age of consent in Great Britain were diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections last year

Only in 2013 5000 children under the age of consent were diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections last year and some of them were aged as young as eleven, Daily Mail reports.

Workers of different charities say easy access to online porn is fuelling infection rate problem. 5000 figure may be the tip of the iceberg , as many juveniles are not aware of those viruses that live in their bodies . 90 youngsters under 13 had sexually transmitted infections last year. 5,386 children aged under 16 were diagnosed with STIs nationwide. Number of children with STIs has DOUBLED in just a decade and the 87% of under 16s diagnosed with infections were girls. In 2003 this figure was only 2474 . More than 5000 children under the age of legal consent were diagnosed with sexual infections last year - and some of them were aged as young as 11. Doctors fear the cases may represent just the tip of the iceberg because many youngsters will be too scared to go and see a GP about their 'embarrassing problem'.

Other children will not even realise they have a problem as some conditions, such as Chlamydia which can lead to infertility, often do not have any symptoms at all.

Charities said easy access to online porn meant thousands of schoolchildren barely into their teenage years are getting their sex education online. Over the last three years, 16707 children under the age of 16 have been diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections. Experts said many of the children aged under 13 who were treated for infections would have been abuse victims rather than sexually active. Of the 90 children aged under 13 who were diagnosed with STIs last year, 44 had Chlamydia, 32 had genital warts and a small undisclosed number had gonorrhoea and herpes.

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