A Norfolk school has called on parents to monitor their children's use of the internet after an Instagram account was reported for cyberbullying.

A spokesman for the Inspiration Trust which runs Thetford Academy said parents have a 'crucial role' in keeping an eye on children's internet usage only a month after the school ran an anti-bullying week.

The reminder came after an Instagram account called @thetfordacadrumors was set up, posting information and rumours that one parent described as 'bullying'.

The account, @thetfordacadrumors, is believed to have been set up by a student at the school, and it subsequently removed posts, posted apologies and has now been deleted.

Inspiration Trust spokesman James Goffin said: 'We take any bullying very seriously and encourage pupils to stay safe online through initiatives like Thetford Academy's anti-bullying week in November.

'Parents and families also have an crucial role to play in monitoring children's use of the internet outside of school time.'

Parents took to Facebook to share their knowledge of the account and to warn other parents, with one parent saying they would class what was being posted as 'bullying'.

In November, the school ran an anti-bullying week which included a Cyberbullying Day on Thursday, November 15, which encouraged students to think about how they can keep themselves safe online and use social media responsibly.

One user on Facebook said: 'Some of the stuff I've read on this account is extremely inappropriate and is what I would class as bullying.

'I wanted to make parents or other aunties/uncles, carers, brothers, sisters of kids...aware of this account and to check your child's phone to see if they're either a victim of this behaviour or possibly one of the children participating.'

After the account was reported, another poster said: 'If those tactics [reporting the account] don't work the best defence is to make sure that your child has a strong sense of self worth and confidence to see that how they are being treated by these bullies is a reflection of their inadequacies and them.

'It's the bullies that should be helped as they have the most problems.'