Sarah's Law to be introduced in Wiltshire in the autumn

The extension of Sarah's law across the country offers "real hope" of keeping children safer, the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers said today.

The Home Office scheme, introduced in response to the abduction and murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne by convicted sex offender Roy Whiting 10 years ago, allows parents to check if someone with regular unsupervised access to their children has a criminal record for abuse.

Child protection experts raised concerns today that the law may make it more difficult for police to monitor sex offenders in the community or may encourage vigilante attacks.

Diana Sutton, of the NSPCC, urged the Government to "tread cautiously", warning: "We remain concerned about the risk of vigilante action and sex offenders going underground. All new local schemes need close management and proper resourcing to avoid this."

And child protection expert Mike Hames told Sky News: "I have got reservations about it. There's always a possibility that if we tell people who aren't in the police force or one of the caring agencies about the fact that somebody is a registered sex offender then the information might get out, and there is always a chance that that person's house will be burnt down or they will be forced to move."

But ACPO president Sir Hugh Orde told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: "People say people will go underground - frankly, people go underground anyway.

"With all the other parts of the police service working also in this area, I do think we have got a real hope of keeping people safer and keeping young people safer, which is very important."

The law would be "a welcome part of the armoury" used by police to protect children, he said.

"As the Home Secretary is keen to roll this out quickly, we are working very closely with Government to get it out there as quickly as we can around the country," said Sir Hugh.

More than 60 children were protected from abuse during trials of the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme which started in 2008 in Cambridgeshire, Cleveland, Hampshire and Warwickshire, said the Home Office.

Almost 600 inquiries to the four forces led to 315 applications and 21 disclosures about registered child sex offenders.

A further 43 cases led to other safeguarding actions, including referrals to children's social care, and 11 general disclosures were made regarding protection issues linked to violent offending.

Today, the scheme was rolled out to eight other force areas - West Mercia, Bedfordshire, Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Thames Valley, West Midlands, Essex and Suffolk.

A further expansion is planned for the autumn, with Northamptonshire, Staffordshire, Sussex, Leicestershire, Wiltshire, Cheshire, Durham, Northumbria, Dorset, Lincolnshire, Surrey and Gloucestershire joining the scheme.

It will be rolled out to other forces across England and Wales by spring next year.

Home Secretary Theresa May hailed the extension as "an important step forward for child protection".

"Being able to make these checks reassures parents and the community and more importantly keeps children safer, she said.

"Not only will it help parents, carers or guardians ensure that their children are safe, but it also assists the police in managing known sex offenders living in the community more effectively.

"The start of the nationwide roll-out will mean even more children will be protected from potential harm."

Sarah Payne's mother, Sara, was crowned the government's Victims'

Champion after her ceaseless attempts to bring in the law based on the so-called Megan's Law in the US, which allows the publication of names, addresses and pictures of paedophiles in some states.

She told the News of the World: "This is a really good step forward and I'm really pleased. It's always tinged with sadness, obviously, because it's to do with Sarah and it's 10 years and it marks the time she was taken from us.

"But to be honest, if the scheme saves one life then the last ten years have been worth it."