Britain’s first specialist “safe house” for child sex abuse victims has been launched to help cope with a surge in cases fuelled by social media and to speed up the prosecution of offenders.

The London-based centre will enable police, medics and psychologists to interview and care for victims in one place so investigations into the perpetrators can be pursued alongside counselling and support.

The £8m centre, called The Lighthouse, will eliminate the need for victims to undergo the trauma of repeating their statement several times to different agencies.

Some 70 child abuse victims have already been referred to the centre where they are interviewed by psychologists in a "talking room" filmed by discrete videos which enable police officers to ensure they are amassing the evidence needed for a prosecution.

Its backers believe the approach, based on the Icelandic Barnahus (Child House) and American Advocacy Centre model, will improve evidence-gathering, reduce delays in bringing a child abuser to trial and speed up recovery times.

There will be capacity for more than 500 young people each year as part of the two-year pilot which it is hoped could become a model for a network of such centres across London and the UK.

The bulk of the money is coming from the Home Office but it is also being funded by London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Office for Policing and Crime, NHS England and Department for Education.