Fifth of online filters of no use

There is a one-in-five chance that filters designed to block child access to adult websites will not work, the European Commission has warned.

A survey described current filtering software as "good", but continued: "There is still at least a 20 per cent chance that sites with unsuitable material for children, and especially those encouraging youngsters to self-harm - sites promoting anorexia, suicide or self-mutilation - could pass through the filters."

The findings show more British parents take action to block adult sites than those in other EU countries, with a total of 54 per cent of Britons using parental controls .