The government has announced plans to increase the maximum penalty for "grooming" children for sexual abuse.

Under an amendment to the Sexual Offences Bill detailed on Monday, those found guilty of the crime could face a jail term of up to 10 years, an increase from the previous seven-year limit.

The bill aims to create a new offence of "sexual grooming", preventing adults from meeting or arranging to meet anyone under 16 for sexual activity.

The jail term increase follows a number of high profile cases, including that of Douglas Lindsell - believed to be one of the most prolific internet "groomers" - received a five-year sentence after being found with hand-written profiles of as many as 54 youngsters.

"We have decided to raise the penalty for the grooming offence following a convincing debate in committee where strong arguments were advanced for raising the penalty to enable appropriate sentences to be passed in the most serious cases," said a Home Office spokeswoman.