London, June 7 (Reuters): One in 10 British children say they have been threatened or made uncomfortable by people taking a photograph of them with a mobile phone, according to a survey published today.

Children’s charity NCH said nearly a sixth of this total believed their image had then been sent to someone else.

A recent craze of “happy slapping”, where random attacks on strangers are filmed by camera phone, has fuelled concerns about youth crime in Britain.

The NCH said in a survey that around one in seven children also reported having received a bullying or threatening text message, roughly the same level discovered in a similar survey conducted by the charity in 2002. “A mobile phone is one of a child’s most treasured personal possessions,” NCH said.

“So if the mobile starts being used to harass a child, be it through text or camera phone bullying, it can seem like there is no escape,” it added.

NCH said it was worrying that more than a quarter (28 per cent) of those experiencing some kind of digital bullying failed to tell anyone about it.

In response, the charity has set up a Web site with Tesco Mobile -- www.stoptextbully.com -- to encourage children to talk to an adult or friend about mobile phone bullying.

Virtually every 12-16 year old owns a mobile phone, while around four million young people own a camera-enabled handset, according to data from market researcher Mobile Youth.

NCH interviewed 770 youngsters aged 11 to 19 for the survey.