A suspected sex offender was in contact with more than 110 children and another was found with 10 million indecent images during a police clampdown on online grooming.

They were among 77 people arrested as part of Operation Lattise since the beginning of June.

Specialist officers found that 523 children as young as three were potential victims of sexual abuse after being groomed online.

More than 30 million images of child sexual abuse or indecent images of children have been recovered.

Some of the pictures are believed to have been taken in Scotland, while others were traced to other parts of the world.

Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham said there had been a "significant increase" in the range of offences, with suspects using online gaming and forums to get close to children and access personal information.

Since the operation started on June 6, a total of 134 investigations have been launched.

ACC Graham said: "We have used some new techniques to identify those that are committing prolific sexual crimes against children online. During that period we have arrested 77 people who have been charged with over 300 offences, and searched over 80 houses.

"We have seized over 500 devices on which we found over 30 million images of sexual abuse or indecent images of children."

ACC Graham said the issue was exacerbated by the growing availability of broadband technology in the developing world.

In some cases, abuse is "live streamed" from elsewhere and viewed or directed by Scottish sex offenders, he said.

Of those who have so far been arrested, police said six were registered sex offenders and four were in a position of trust.

A total of 392 charges have been brought, including rape, sharing indecent images of children, grooming for sexual purposes, sexual extortion, indecent communication with children, possession of a firearm, bestiality and drugs offences.

It is expected to take four full time officers around half a year to view and analyse the 10 million images seized from one suspect.

More than 100,000 chat logs have already been already assessed; a quarter of which relate to conversations between one suspect and a number of children.

Police said the threat of cyber grooming was growing annually, with the total recorded offences of children being groomed for sexual offences more than doubling from 23 in 2014-2015 to 50 in 2015-2016.

The official recorded number of people taking, distributing and possessing indecent images of children rose from 605 in 2014-2015 to 645 in the past financial year.

Early years minister Mark McDonald said: "Children and young people should be able to enjoy and learn from the internet, but we also want them to stay in control and know what to do and who to go to if they feel at risk.

"Keeping children safe is a priority for both Police Scotland and the Scottish Government, so although there are many positive aspects to the online world I recognise, there are also risks we have to be aware of.

"The outcomes of the operation will help to inform our child protection improvement programme, where child internet safety and tackling child sexual exploitation is a priority."

NSPCC Scotland policy and public affairs manager Joanna Barrett said: "We are increasingly concerned about the harm caused to children through online activity.

"Too many children are exposed to dangerous and harmful content through the internet or are subjected to online harassment, grooming and sexual exploitation.

"We recently highlighted how the internet is playing an increasing role in the sexual abuse of younger children in Scotland, with a 60% rise recorded over a year in the number of indecent communications offences carried out by adults against children aged under 13.

"It is vital we learn more about the nature and scale of this offending in Scotland, and its impact on children and young people."