Superhero social media campaign goes worldwide as Northamptonshire police officer targets child sexual exploitation

PC Rob Stevens came up with the idea to ask people to change their profile picture to their favourite superhero for one week...and the response has been phenomenal.

Within hours of changing his profile picture with a plea for help to increase understanding of the signs of CSE, hundreds had followed suit, and now, four days on, more than 1,000 people on Twitter have changed their avatar. This includes people from Canada, Australia, Holland and America.

PC Stevens said: “There is no greater priority than protecting our children and this is a subject I’m passionate about.

“We need to raise awareness of this horrendous crime so that people know what signs to look out for which may indicate a child is at risk.

“I thought this would be a different way of spreading the word and I’m delighted it has taken off so well.”

Senior officers who have changed their profile pictures in support of PC Stevens mission include Chief Constable Simon Edens, whose avatar is now Spider-Man.

Help raise #CSE awareness with @PCStevens1368 #superheroes15.