Research involving 11,000 teenagers, aged 14 to 16, showed many were being harmed on the streets after they ran off.

One in six (16%) children said they were forced to sleep rough or at strangers' homes.

The society complained there were currently only three official refuges for runaways in the UK, with just 10 beds in total.

It called for a national network of Government-funded refuges, open 24 hours a day in urban and rural locations.

Society chief executive Bob Reitemeier said: "If the police are not alerted and children stay away from home, they will be left seeking help from adults who may harm, hurt, abuse and exploit them.

"Unless the Government funds a national network of refuges for runaways, thousands more children will slip into the hands of dangerous adults and be harmed."

More than one in 10 children surveyed said they were forced to beg or steal while away from home.

Association of Chief Police Officers spokesman said: "Early notification can make the vital difference in cases of abduction and may also prevent other harms, such as abuse or becoming involved in crime."