If there’s anything that will put you off porn for life, it’s being on the set of an adult film shoot, says Cameron Dale.

The zoology student, from Tameside, spent two weeks learning about Spain’s porn industry for BBC Three documentary 'Porn Laid Bare'.

Cameron, 21, was one of six 20-somethings who went out to meet producers, performers and the people fighting against the dark side of the business.

And one particular shoot was, in his words, 'the worst thing I have ever seen in my life'.

(Image: BBC)

On the seedy looking set, Torbe, a producer notorious in Spain, invited Cameron and two other contributors to watch the filming of a 'gang bang' made up of 20 masked men - and just one young woman aged 19.

“It’s the worst thing I have ever seen in my life,” Cameron says, before breaking down in shock.

He continued: “There are no other words I can use other than it was just heartbreaking to watch. To me this seemed more like a free brothel than it did a porn shoot.”

(Image: BBC)

A casual viewer of porn, Cameron was keen to get a broader picture of the industry, which is, as he found out, more than just fantasy sex.

But little did he know the documentary would open up the dangerous world of trafficking, drugging women during shoots, abuse and exploitation.

Speaking to the M.E.N., Cameron said: “I have always been an emotional person but after spending two weeks watching the highs and lows of the porn industry, it opened my eyes so much that I feel it is my duty to stand up and say, it’s not ok.

(Image: BBC)

“It’s an important topic. The majority of people watch porn and don’t give the dark side of the industry a second thought.”

In the series, Cameron also visits Madrid, where feminist campaigners Towanda Rebels reveal how ‘public disgrace’ porn, where women are abused on camera, is freely filmed in public places in the city.

When asked whether he thought this was sex, Cameron said: “Far from it. If that was just a normal couple, and there were no cameras, it would be assault.”

In the three-part documentary, the team follow performers Rob Diesel and Julia De Lucia, before heading to a shoot on a Spanish beach.

They also meet female porn stars who seem content with their job, and others not so happy, such as former performer Sabrina, who recounted her experiences and concerns about alleged widespread drugging and prostitution in the industry.

Cameron said: “Doing this documentary has definitely opened up another side of the argument. I expected my opinion to change on porn, but I didn’t expect it to take this much of a turn so soon.

“I need to show people that these things do happen and they are horrific. I hope that us being able to show people about it helps other women in the future.”

According to the BBC, a survey suggests that more than seven out of ten people (71 percent) agree that porn has given them ideas for sex, with 52 percent agreeing that porn has played some role while exploring their own sexuality.

A quarter (24 percent) of those surveyed agreed they have felt pressured to do things that a partner has seen in porn and just under one in five (19 percent) said that they have tried things they have seen in porn and regretted it.

Over a third (35 percent) agreed that they have had riskier sex due to porn.

Cameron, who now plans to raise awareness about the issue, says that education needs to start at school.

“I can’t remember porn being more accessible than it is now because everyone has a mobile phone,” he said. “Fifty five per cent of young men in the UK get their sex education from porn. The only sex education I had in school was mainly just about contraception.

“Sex has never been treated as something you do for pleasure. It’s never been about the emotional or relationship side. Sex is just a means to having a baby - it’s not a realistic way of teaching, and I think this needs to change.”

At the end of the series, Cameron and the group were given the choice of making their own porn film or going on a march with the Towanda Rebels protesting violence against women and pornography.

He said: "I'd like to join in the march. For me the most important thing is for men like myself to show solidarity with feminism and represent people like me, to show that it is OK to be a feminist."

Porn Laid Bare is available now on iPlayer.