Children’s charities have called for ground rules to be enforced in court to prevent the exploitation of young witnesses.

A report released this week by the NSPCC and Nuffield Foundation found that inadequate procedures and a lack of training for legal professionals were having detrimental effects on both the youngsters and their evidence.

The report, a progress update on the 2009 study Measuring Up, said that intermediaries must be deployed to help children understand questions, and specialist schemes set up to offer tailored victim support.

It also recommended that judges, barristers and solicitor- advocates receive extra guidance on how best to question vulnerable youngsters.

‘Current cross-examination methods often contravene principles for obtaining complete and accurate reports from children and may actually exploit their developmental limitations,’ it said.

‘Judges are advised in Judicial College guidance to agree ground rules with the parties in advance on the way children are to be questioned, but this rarely happens unless a registered intermediary is involved.

'Ground rules should be routine, even in non-intermediary cases.’

The number of children called as witnesses in criminal cases, often as victims and usually by the prosecution, has risen sharply in recent years, from around 30,000 in 2006/07 to 48,000 in 2008/09.

In a 14-month period examined by the report, children aged five and under were assessed by a regional intermediary in 114 cases.

The report said that while young witnesses must be enabled to give their best evidence for a fair trial, this has to be done in a way that recognises they are children and not adults.