A new system for rating video games in the UK has come into force.

The Government says the new age-rating system is designed to stop inappropriate games being sold to children under the age of 12 and give the industry more straightforward rules for rating games according to age.

All games sold in the UK will be regulated under the Europe-wide PEGI (Pan European Game Information) scheme.

Up until now, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has provided 15 and 18 certificates that are legally enforceable here.

However the BBFC was never tasked with providing 12 certificates for video games, meaning it was technically legal to sell a 12-rated game to younger children.

The new system will end the BBFC's role in rating video games, unless they contain explicit sexual content that warrants an R18 rating, but make all PEGI ratings made by the UK-based Video Standards Council legally enforceable.

The changes mean anyone selling a 12-certificate game to a child under that age in the UK could be jailed.