Half of the population believes children are dangerous and behave like animals, a survey has revealed.
The results show an "unjustified and disturbing intolerance of children in the UK", said children's charity Barnardo's which commissioned the research.
The poll of 2,021 adults, conducted by YouGov, showed that 53 per cent believed children were beginning to behave like animals, while 49 per cent said children were increasingly dangerous both to each other and to adults.
Barnardo's said the attitudes revealed by the study reflected the results of the British Crime Survey.
The crime survey showed that people blame children for "up to half of all crime" when in fact they are only responsible for 12 per cent of criminal activity.
Barnardo's chief executive Martin Narey said: "It is appalling that words like 'animal', 'feral' and 'vermin' are used daily in reference to children."
