Dinosaurs have been brought back from extinction to help keep children safe from sexual predators.

A total of 10,757 offences against under-10s – 29 a day – were reported last year to police in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Now, leading children’s charity, the NSPCC, has launched an advert at cinemas across the country – including the Odeon in Huddersfield – featuring dinosaurs explaining how to stay safe from abuse.

The 30-second animation has been made by Aardman, creators of Morph, Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, and stars a pant-wearing dinosaur character called Pantosaurus.

Leading childrens charity, the NSPCC, has enlisted the help of dinosaurs to get parents talking to their children about sexual abuse with a video to be shown in cinemas.

It is aimed at four to eight-year-olds as talking to children about staying safe has been found to be most effective when taught at an early age.

The film is part of the NSPCC’s PANTS campaign, which has already helped over 400,000 parents talk to their children about sexual abuse since its launch three years ago. It has also led to one conviction and a number of other disclosures of abuse from children.

PANTS, which is taught in schools, stands for:

• Privates are private;

• Always remember your body belongs to you;

• No means no;

• Talk about secrets that upset you;

• Speak up, someone can help.

Leading childrens charity, the NSPCC, has enlisted the help of dinosaurs to get parents talking to their children about sexual abuse with a video to be shown in cinemas.

Peter Wanless, chief executive officer of the NSPCC, said: “We know many parents will struggle with the idea of talking to their children about sexual abuse, but it’s vital if we want our children to understand how to stay safe.

“Parents know it’s an important conversation to have, but don’t always know how to go about it. We hope our new child-friendly and catchy animation will act as a conversation starter, helping parents to address the topic of sexual abuse without using scary words or even mentioning sex.”

Heather Wright, executive producer at Aardman, said: “Humour, animation and music are a great way of making it less awkward for parents and young children to talk about this very difficult subject.”