A TEENAGER who was groomed on Twitter by a man from Haydock has waived her anonymity to tell Digital Secretary Matt Hancock: “You’re in charge… you can stop this.”

Seventeen-year-old Gemma Ward decided to share her story of abuse by Michael Wood, from Haydock, to urge social networks to crackdown on abuse.

Gemma, who now lives in Hastings, Sussex, was contacted on Twitter by 34-year-old Wood when she was 15 and living in Blackburn.

Wood, who was married, started by offering Gemma support when she tweeted about missing friends during school holidays.

He moved on to complimenting her and offering her concert tickets. He then used emotional blackmail by blocking Gemma on-and-off to pressure her into eventually meeting and having sex.

In January he was jailed for three years for three counts of sexual activity with a child.

In her letter to the Digital Secretary, Gemma said: “I really want you to make things better. I don’t want anyone else to go through what I went through.

“You’re in charge. You’ve got the power to force Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and all those other sites to protect young people from being approached by people like Michael.

“If there’s anything you can do, any rules you can make, or any punishments you could give social networks to force them to protect young people – please just do it. You can stop this.

“I use twitter to follow football news and I use Facebook to keep up with my friends. I should be able to do that safely, without being groomed.”

St Helens Star:

Michael Wood, from Haydock, was jailed in January

Mr Hancock has vowed to end the era of the Wild West Web, but he is expected to bring in a safety code for social networks that is only voluntary, meaning sites could choose to ignore it with impunity.

In response, the NSPCC has launched the #WildWestWeb campaign, calling on Mr Hancock to bring in a mandatory code to force social networks to keep children safe.

It was revealed on Monday, April 16, that in nine months, police logged Facebook and Facebook-owned apps Instagram and Whatsapp as being used by groomers in 52 per cent of cases where the means of communication was revealed by police.

The NSPCC is asking its supporters to tweet Mr Hancock to spur him into action.

Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, said: “Gemma has been incredibly brave to come forward and report this abuse and achieve justice.

“Her story is heartbreaking, but we know that every day more girls her age are being targeted by online predators using social networks to groom children.

“Matt Hancock has the power to do something to stop this from happening.

"We urge him to listen to Gemma, and to use his Internet Safety Strategy to bring in an effective mandatory code to force social networks to protect children.”

A spokesperson from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, added: “We are committed to making Britain the safest place in the world to be online.

“We have been clear that we expect social media companies to make sure people who use their platforms are safe from harm, and we are prepared to bring in new laws and fines if significant progress is not made.”