Kids are all right? Tracking device will tell you

YOU MAY never have to scream your children's names again. A wristwatch with a built-in tracking device can tell you exactly where your little darlings are - and allow you to speak to them at the flick of a button.

An ex-paratrooper has designed a device that contains a GPS system so parents can monitor children's whereabouts within two to three metres through a computer or a mobile phone app. It also contains a sim card so it can receive calls from a number of pre-programmed phone numbers.

But child safety groups have expressed concern that using GPS to track a child could be an extreme measure and say parents should communicate with their children rather than rely on technology.

The Loc8er device was developed by Edinburgh-based former acting Lance Corporal Dean Corrigan, 32, when he was serving in the Army as a physical training instructor.

"As a soldier I always think about situations on the ground and practical solutions. The radio system wasn't that good for soldiers on the ground when I was in the Army and it got me thinking about GPS, which means you always know where everyone is," he said. "Then I realised it could work for kids, because even if kids have mobile phones there's no way of knowing where they've gone or where they were last."

The Loc8er is designed to look like a large children's wristwatch and will retail at around 120. It is expected to launch on the market later this year. As well as working as a tracking device, meaning parents can download a computer programme or mobile phone app that contains maps showing where the child is, it is also programmed to alert parents if it is taken off. It can also be instructed to be switched off at certain times - when the child is at school, for example. It also rejects calls from numbers it doesn't know, and only allows the child to accept calls from pre-programmed numbers it recognises.

"It means if you're on a beach abroad and it's jampacked with people and you have that initial fear when your child wanders off - you literally look at your phone and it will tell you how many metres away they are and in what direction, and then you can ring them, tell them where to go and go and find them," said Corrigan, who served in the Paras between 1995 and 1999.

But not everyone is convinced by the technology. Jill Cook, helpline manager at ParentLine Scotland, said: "While it is right to consider different ways to help keep our children safe, remotely tracking them is quite an extreme measure.

"We would encourage parents to talk to their children about where they are going, who they are with and when they will return home. People in the community play a key role in protecting children in Scotland. Ultimately it is people, not procedures or technology, that keep children safe."Around 100,000 children go missing in the UK each year - one every five minutes. While the majority are found, some remain missing. There are a number of GPS tracking devices on the market aimed at locating vulnerable children and adults.

However, none combines the voice and tracking elements in one device and, according to Corrigan's research, have failed to become popular because most parents remain unaware such devices exist.