CHILDREN across Oxfordshire have been warned against broadcasting their location on Snapchat amid concerns it could leave them vulnerable to grooming, stalking and bullying.

Child protection charities, schools in the county and Thames Valley Police have issued warnings of potential dangers arising through social media after the photo-sharing app released its new Snap Maps feature.

The new feature, launched in June, allows users to share their location with everyone on their Snapchat contacts list to such a precise degree that is possible to tell what part of a building they are in.

Detective Sergeant Sally Russell, who works in Thames Valley Police's cyber-crime team, said it was important children and parents understood how apps worked and the 'vulnerabilities' and 'dangers' they could be at risk of.

The NSPCC is urging young people to hide their location using the ‘ghost mode’ setting, and has issued advice to parents in the county.

It is also calling on Government to force social networks to offer 'safe accounts' to under 18s – with location settings switched off as default.

DS Russell told the Mail 'Snap Map' presented 'added dangers' to online safety.

She said: "The main thing is to have an understanding of how these things work and the vulnerabilities and dangers you could put yourself at risk from.

"We are seeing people use social media more and more, certainly younger people.

"There is all sorts of things apps that are out there, this is not the first, but it's just knowing what they are and who really should be looking at them."

DS Russell urged youngsters and parents to check who could access to their location, adding many people have 1000s of 'friend's on other sites such as Facebook, but do not know all of them or would want to share certain information.

In Oxfordshire between January 1 and June 6 this year, there have been 168 crimes reported to Thames Valley Police, in which the word Snapchat was linked to the recording.

The Oxford Academy in Littlemore bans students using mobile phones during school.

Headteacher Niall McWilliams said the school issued a lot of advice surrounding online safety.

He added: "It's a really big concern and it adds a next level to the safeguarding issue. We just have to try to deal with it. It's in society now. People [who use social media] are getting younger and younger. "Of course there is negative aspects but there is positive ones too.

"It's just about using it carefully and responsibly."

DS Russell said cyber crime was an 'emerging threat' adding it could be an element in any crime.

She added: "Technology is enabling and facilitating crime in very different ways.

"It's making people understand the risks and how to protect themselves. We need to be more conscious."

Research found that 36 per cent of young people nationally added someone online that they didn't know in the past six months.