The mother of a 15-year-old girl lured to Bradford by an internet predator today backed the introduction of guidelines to protect youngsters on websites.

The Home Office is expected to announce measures tomorrow to improve security on websites like Bebo, Facebook and MySpace.

It comes as a survey by watchdog Ofcom suggests that many parents are unaware of the dangers their children face on such sites.

Masuillah Hafesjee, 30, of Norwood Avenue, Shipley, pretended to be a teenager when he contacted the girl in an internet chatroom site to lure her from Hampshire to Bradford.

He had sex with her every day until police caught them in Bradford six days later. He was jailed for five years at Bradford Crown Court in February but died in his cell last month. The teenager, now 16, was experiencing personal problems at the time.

Today, her mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: "Anything that can protect any young child on the internet must be welcomed. After what I have been through with my daughter, I realise how necessary it is to have safeguards."

The Home Office report is due to recommend that privacy on the sites is strengthened. It is expected to suggest that sites feature a page listing emergency numbers, such as 999.

The guidelines are also set to encourage the sites to look into better ways of verifying the ages of users.

Ofcom's research found that, of those with internet access, 49 per cent of eight to 17-year-olds and just over 22 per cent of adults now have a profile on a social networking site.

But 16 per cent of parents do not know who can see their children's profiles and many believe that their children are safer online than they actually are.

Robin Blake, of Ofcom, said: "There is an issue about parenting - parents who are allowing their children to go online without any supervision. Normal parenting skills come into play. They need to recognise that their children are potentially at risk."

Ian Murch, Bradford secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "I hope the guidelines will make a difference but rules of that kind are not easy to enforce. The most important thing is that parents understand what happens on these sites."

Sue Colman, Bradford Council's assistant director for learning, said: "Schools are given support from a designated child protection lead, who could be a teacher, who are given training by Education Bradford and work within schools to help with a range of issues, including children using internet sites."

Wasim Ahmed, 14, a member of Bradford and Keighley Youth Parliament, said: "The sites are good if you use them well. I have my privacy settings on which have stopped strangers contacting me."