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A girl from Teesside was asked intimate questions by a virtual "Santa".

The six-year-old was sent a string of sinister messages after downloading app "Santa Call & Text You".

Her mortified mum became alarmed when the app asked her daughter how old she was, where she lived, if she walked alone to school and "tell me more about your mam".

The free iPhone app asked another child: "Do you like to go with the flow?"

And: "I am looking at you through the camera of your computer."

(Image: Copyright unknown)

In one exchange, the six-year-old from Park End told Santa she had curly hair.

He replied: "People with curly hair are considered the most attractive."

Santa asked the girl to describe her mum, and asked: "She's nice and pretty is she?"

Her mum turned to Teesside Live to warn other parents: "My daughter asked me how to spell purple.

"I then realised she was wearing a purple dress and she was telling Santa what she was wearing.

"I just knew, mother’s instinct or whatever. I took phone off her and read the whole conversation.

"I think it's been hijacked. There is something not right about this. It's just so strange."

(Image: Copyright unknown)

The app, developed by Nguyen Thao, has a 4.4-star rating on the App Store.

But many parents have issued negative reviews and warned about the dangers of the app.

"This app is extremely inappropriate for kids," said one. Another said: "It's vulgar and inappropriate."

A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said: "We received a report regarding a suspicious app on Monday September 23 at 09.30am.

"Officers carried out a number of lines of enquiries in a bid to trace where the app had originated from and our team haven’t received any other reports of this nature relating to this app.

"The caller was advised to contact the app service to report the concerns about the app and to enquire about whether the app is genuine.

"The job has been closed pending any new lines of enquiry coming to light."

Information about internet safety can be found here .