Bradley* started watching porn when he was just seven.
He was 24, on a six-figure salary, when the police came calling, after years of watching extreme and illegal content online.
The recovering porn addict now fears other youngsters could be led down a similar path because of age ID checks pushing users to fringe sites.
Bradley is sharing his story after a new survey revealed nearly half of pornography users have visited sites without age verification checks.
Since the law changed in July, 45% of 1,469 adults who use porn have gone on websites without age checks to avoid submitting their personal information, a poll by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation found.
The charity fears that these users are instead heading to riskier sites and could be more likely to see child abuse images.
That slippery slope to illegal content began when Bradley was a child.
‘I still remember waiting for the lines to load while trying to load an erotic image on my computer,’ he recalled.
The then seven-year-old quickly became addicted and used explicit content as a safety blanket for when he became ‘scared, angry and emotional’.
He told Metro: ‘That was my secret happy place. It became a comfort for me.
‘I was using it to go to sleep and using it to wake up.’
Like many addictions, the habit became ‘dull’ and his brain needed to find something else to deliver a stronger dopamine hit.
He turned to more ‘taboo’ subjects, watching content that was more and more extreme, and illegal.
His age was still in ‘single digits’ when he first watched bestiality porn, which is illegal and shows sex between an animal and a human.
The ease of accessing horrific bestiality material shocked Bradley.
He said: ‘It became so much more accessible. There were so many sites I could fall down a rabbit hole into.
‘I never saw how extreme and depraved some things were. Because I was hidden behind a screen, it didn’t feel like I was harming anyone else.’
When he was in his 20s, Bradley began viewing indecent images of children online.
‘Deep down you know it’s something you don’t want to do,’ he said, ‘but when you are craving that dopamine hit, that’s the only thing that’s going to solve it.
‘Until the moment passes. Then you are filled with shame and dread at what you have just looked at.’
When Bradley was arrested in his 20s, all he felt was relief, knowing he’d finally be unable to watch the content in a cell.
He was soon put in touch with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, which works to with people at risk of watching child sex abuse, and started therapy for his porn addiction.
The recovering addict now wants to raise awareness of how ordinary people can fall into watching illegal content online.
In July 2025, the Online Safety Act was introduced, asking for age verification checks on porn sites to stop children accessing harmful material.
Many pornography services have complied with the act, Metro found while Ofcom can fine those who aren’t for £18million, or 10% of a firm’s global turnover.
However, the Lucy Faithfull Foundation survey found that 29% of adult porn users admitted to using a VPN to avoid age checks.
Even more worrying is the almost half of respondents who had turned to websites without those checks.
Experts fear that these sites are more likely to expose people to harmful illegal content, with nearly four in 10 porn users saying they’ve watched content that made them uncomfortable.
Alexandra Bailey, the foundation’s head of psychology and an associate professor at the University of Roehampton, said: ‘These sites can expose people to harmful material, including illegal content depicting child sexual abuse.
‘Even if you’re not looking for it, you could encounter it – and that can have serious, life-changing consequences.’
Bradley agreed, saying: ‘If someone is already on the fence of becoming addicted or dependent on pornography, I worry it could push them to the wrong side of that fence.
‘If sites aren’t abiding by the Online Safety Act, then they’re probably not abiding by other rules and restrictions.
‘It is going to push people into riskier sites and riskier categories. I worry that will become the new norm.’
The Lucy Faithfull Foundation warns 18 to 24-year-olds are most at risk of porn addiction.
Its survey found 51% of respondents in that category were concerned about how much porn they use.
The charity is urging anyone concerned about their pornography use and worried about the type of content they are viewing to seek help before it escalates.
Bradley says the secret to helping people with a problem is for society tobecome more ‘supportive’.
He explained: ‘When you see all the comments of “bring back hanging” and “throw them in a cell and throw away the key”, it is not a deterrent for doing it.
‘It is a deterrent for being honest and seeking support.’
A DSIT spokesperson said: ‘The Online Safety Act is helping to make the UK one of the safest places in the world to be online.
‘Ofcom research shows children are now significantly more likely to encounter age checks when trying to access age-inappropriate content.
‘The Lucy Faithfull Foundation’s research reinforces why we must maintain momentum on this critical agenda.
‘Industry must continue meeting its responsibilities and Ofcom has our full backing to take action against those who fall short.’
An Ofcom spokesperson said: ‘Change is happening, and the tide on online safety is beginning to turn for the better.
‘Last year saw important changes for people, with new measures across many sites and apps now better protecting UK users from harmful content, particularly children.
But we need to see much more from tech companies this year and we’ll use our full powers if they fall short.’
*Name has been changed to protect their anonymity.
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