SOCIAL networking sites like Facebook should offer better protection from predators, say parents and grandparents in Gloucester.

This comes after Merseyside police was criticised about its handling of the case of a known sex offender who killed a teenager he met on Facebook.

Peter Chapman, 33, was jailed for life for raping and murdering Ashleigh Hall, 17, in County Durham, last October after he posed as a teenage boy on the site.

And an inquest recently found Longlevens schoolgirl Holly Grogan had suffered torment on social networking site Facebook.

Barbara Miller, 60, from Gloucester, said her 13 year-old granddaughter was on Facebook, but she was constantly monitored by her mother.

"My daughter-in-law constantly looks at what my granddaughter is doing on there, but it is so easy for someone to go on there and pose as someone else," she said. "My daughter--in-law has been onto her profile and deletes any friend requests from people she doesn't know."

Caroline Locke, 48, from Gloucester, said: "Better security on Facebook would be a great idea, particularly for the younger kids."

Claire Locke, 24, from Gloucester, said: "I think there has to be tighter restrictions on Facebook and parents should take more of an interest in what their children are doing online."

Gerald Dee, Gloucester city councillor (Con. Tuffley), has five grandchildren.

He believes that people should be more aware of what pictures and information they put onto their Facebook page.

He said: "I know that some companies are now looking at people's Facebook pages before they employ them, so people should be careful what they put on there."

There were recent suggestions to install a panic button, which would allow children who fear they are being groomed by paedophiles to get expert advice online.

Cally Hayes, 20, from White City, said: "I had issues with some of my family and I hid my details from all of them and changed my settings so that I couldn't be searched for, perhaps some parents could do that with their children's settings. I think a panic button would be a great idea."

Carla Carpenter, 21, from White City, said: "My profile is set to private, apart from people I know. I think it is important to hide information from people."

Jane Windle-Hartshorn, area manager for Parentline Plus Gloucestershire, said: "When you have got these stories about Facebook and other sites, parents worry about their children.

"What we say is that parents should familiarise themselves with these sites. Thirty three per cent of parents don't know what their children do on the internet and don't know how to use it."