Two men in their 20s were the victims of alleged sextortion, prompting an urgent warning from the police.

Both alleged victims were told to send large amounts of cash online and threatend that revealing images would be sent to their contacts should they not comply.

The two cases are part of a rise in sextortion cases that Wiltshire Police are reporting among younger people in the county.

Sextortion is a form of blackmail where a criminal uses a fake identity to lure a victim into performing explicit acts in front of a webcam and then threatens to reveal these images online unless they give in to their demands.

In one case, a man in his 20s had been talking to a woman on social media and had sent her a compromising picture. She has then told him to send her £500 or she will send the image to all his friends and family.

In a similar incident, another man also aged in his 20s had been told he must send 500 euros to unknown individuals online, and if he failed to do so, they would send a nude image of him to all his Facebook contacts.

Detectives from Central Criminal Investigation Department at Wiltshire Police are conducting enquiries in relation to "a number of cases".

The froce has now issued a caution to the general public following a rise in cases.

The constabulary has launched an appeal to make the public aware of the dangers of sextortion and what it means.

Det Con Ryan Churchley said: “We are beginning to see a bit of an increase in incidents of this nature reported to police and with a younger generation that live and breathe social media and maybe naïve to the consequences resulting from their actions, we felt it pertinent to raise awareness of the issues surrounding sextortion.

“The vast majority of these types of incidents are perpetrated by professional criminals trying to make easy money. Victims are often, but not always, targeted because they have visited certain internet sites, where criminals lie in wait.”

If you think you may be a victim, call 101 to report your concerns.

For under 18s, additional support is available via Child Exploitation Online Protection (CEOP).