The DNA records of seven children are placed on the national database by Sussex Police every day.

A total of 26,163 young people in the county, aged ten to 17, have had their DNA profiles stored in the past decade.

Samples are kept regardless of whether or not a child is charged with any crime.

The Liberal Democrats, which obtained the figures from the National Policing Improvement Agency through a Freedom of Information request, said the database was "a costly way of stigmatising young people" and attacked the Government's approach to tackling crime as "unfair, heavy-handed and ineffective".

DNA profiles consist of 10 pairs of numbers and a letter, extracted from a swab or blood samples and stored on the computer database.

The system was set up in 1995 and holds more than five million profiles of adults and children.

Duplicates mean it holds the records of around 4.5 million different people.

Nationally, 1.1m samples have been taken from young people and stored alongside data on their ethnic appearance, sex and age since 2000.

In 2009 alone, police forces have taken DNA from 54,311 subject profiles aged between 10 and 17 - including 1,148 in Sussex.

Last month it emerged that 6,049 profiles of approximately 5,232 adults and children have been added to the database by Sussex Police since the European Court of Human Rights ruled the Government's DNA policy was in breach of human rights in December last year.

Former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith proposed in May that the records of innocent people should be removed after six years, or after 12 years for those arrested for serious violent or sexual crimes.

Under the Government's plans, currently out to consultation, the DNA records of anyone found guilty of an offence punishable by a prison sentence would remain on the database for life.

But youngsters convicted of only one minor offence would be deleted from the database when they turned 18.

A Lib Dem spokeswoman said: "Storing the DNA of thousands of innocent young people as young as ten is unlikely to solve our crime problems, but is a costly way of stigmatising young people. If you're innocent, you shouldn't have your data on who you are kept for years.

"Labour's approach to tackling crime is unfair, heavy-handed and ineffective."

A statement from the Home Office said: "The number of young people on the DNA database reflects the number who have been arrested for a recordable offence.

“That is an important threshold, as arrest must be based on a reasonable suspicion that the person is involved in the offence.

"We recognise the need for special consideration when dealing with young people and have consulted on proposals to remove juveniles from the database when they turn 18 provided they are not re-arrested and are not convicted of serious, violent or sexual offences. We have also removed all under-10s."