A third of children have encountered dangers on the internet but parents are disregarding the hazards and failing to educate them, according to a British report.

Some 35 per cent of children in the UK have come across dangers online while at home, increasing to 40 per cent of teenagers, online security company AVG Technologies found.

One in eight (12 per cent) had accidentally looked at unsuitable or disturbing content online, six per cent had looked at adult content deliberately, 11 per cent had encountered online bullying and eight per cent had met or talked with strangers online.

However a quarter of all parents (24 per cent) have no plans to educate their children about online risks, increasing to 39 per cent of those with 10 to 12-year-olds and 62 per cent with 13 to 16-year-olds.

When asked why, two in five parents (44 per cent) said they believed their child was sensible enough to know what to avoid online, 22 per cent thought it was too awkward to discuss and 14 per cent did not think it was necessary.

The majority of parents (88 per cent) said their children's digital habits were mainly influenced by people outside the home such as school friends and teachers, while a quarter (26 per cent) said friends from outside school also played a role.

The report suggests that with 40 per cent of parents most concerned about their child's online safety when they are away from home, they could be “too quick to shift the blame for children encountering dangers online onto these outside influencers, rather than shoulder it themselves.”

AVG spokesman Tony Anscombe said: “No matter how tech-savvy today's children are, nor how technophobic their parents think they are, it's important not to forget that they are still just kids.

“As with any other life lessons, children look to parents for guidance, and in turn, it is their responsibility to teach them good from bad.

“The findings of this research prove exactly that. By assuming children know best, simply because they have grown up around technology, parents are opening up their children to online dangers – and a significant amount are falling victim to them in some form.

“It's only through parents educating themselves and their children about these dangers that we'll start to reduce the number of children exposed to inappropriate content online.”

:: VansonBourne surveyed 2,200 UK parents with one or more children aged between 4 and 16 online between June 4-12.