Ref. 71899-13PARENTS could soon be using Big Brother-style tracking technology to keep an eye on toddlers.

A device has been invented enabling parents to pinpoint the whereabouts of their children to within 150 metres.

It is hoped the gadget, which uses satellite technology, will see an end to tearful tantrums and emotional shopping centre reunions after a child gets lost.

And the idea has already got the thumbs up from shoppers in Swindon.

The system consists of a transmitter that fits onto the child's belt buckle and a receiver that remains with the parent.

If the youngster wanders off, the youngster's location will automatically flash up on a display screen.

Its inventor, 21-year-old design student Karen Balbi from Essex, revealed how she hit on the idea.

She said: "For our final year project we had to go away and think of a problem that needed solving.

"As a child I always wandered off and got lost in shops and I know it caused a lot of stress to my parents.

"While I was talking to them I thought it would be a good idea to help parents in the same situation now."

Sometimes, the consequences of losing a child can have tragic consequences.

In 1993, video cameras in a Bootle shopping centre captured the chilling footage of two-year-old James Bulger being dragged away by two young abductors when he became separated from his parents.

The circumstances surrounding the little boy's death shocked the nation. The two boys were subsequently jailed for the murder.

The idea of a tracking device has been welcomed in Swindon.

Grandmother-of-six, Catherine Diston, 67, of Meadowcroft, Upper Stratton, was out with James, who is almost two.

She said: "I think this is a jolly good invention. It can be very distressing for everyone when a child is lost.

"I remember losing my daughter in a large shopping centre years ago. It was horrible."

Nick Beaumont-Jones, manager of the Brunel Centre, also gave it his seal of approval.

He said: "The world can be a very frightening place when you are two foot six inches tall.

"This invention sounds like a great idea.

"On average, we deal with one lost child a week and it can be very scary for both the child and the parent. Only this week two young boys became detached from their mother. Fortunately we managed to reunite them.

"The mother was livid it was a typical 'wait-til-I-get-you-home' moment."

Mr Beaumont-Jones joked that the invention could also be used to keep tabs on partners.

"I once got lost from my wife while out shopping in Nottingham," he revealed.

"There was a sudden rush of people and she was gone. It was actually quite scary. It easier than you think to get lost."

The gadget helped earn the young inventor a first class honours degree from Brunel University.

She is now looking for a company to manufacture it.

Kevin Shoesmith