Fifty per cent of 10-year-olds in the UK owned a smartphone in 2019, according to the latest report by media regulator Ofcom.

The report showed that the number of young phone owners doubled between the ages of nine and 10, as reported by the BBC.

In addition, 24 per cent of 3 and 4-year-olds had their own tablet, - with 15 per cent of them were allowed to take it to bed.

The study of children and their online habits was based on more than 3,200 interviews with children and parents around the UK.

Ofcom also interviewed parents about their concerns about the internet. It found that just under half (45 per cent) of parents thought the benefits of children using the internet outweighed the risks, but the survey showed an overall increase in parental concern about young people seeing content that might lead them to self-harm.

About half of 12-15 year olds had seen 'hateful' content online.

Simon Gardiner, sales manager at Lister Unified Communications in Stonehouse, said parents could be doing more to keep their children safe online.

He said: "Mobile business users are using various solutions to protect their mobile devices, yet we are not protecting our most vulnerable in society.

"It is quite easy to protect and monitor kids' digital usage and habits using something like Google Family Link, which is free."