New technology, developed by a Sussex firm, will allow parents to track their children's every move by using their mobile phones.

The idea is being marketed as a child-safety device and could hit the shops next month.

Parents would be able to send a text message to a central server that locates the child's mobile phone before sending back a message pinpointing their location.

On new handsets the service would even send back an image of a map with their whereabouts circled.

The technology has been called ChildMinder and is the brainchild of Richard Jelbert.

The 34-year-old used his background working with next generation mobile phones to set up Multimedia Messaging Systems Ltd (MMSys) in Midhurst in November 2002.

The firm has won a Smart small business grant after impressing the Government with its idea.

Mr Jelbert said: "We have spent a lot of time making sure it's easy to use and is delivered in a way parents can understand.

"If you have a teenager who says they are going out, the normal thing parents do is stay up until they get home or even phone them repeatedly to make sure they are okay.

"This sends out the message that children are not to be trusted. If parents can discreetly check to make sure their child is where they say they are or on their way home, then it's more comfortable for both parties."

Mr Jelbert has already tried out the system with his wife's 17-year-old sister.

He said: "She had no problems with it at all. It's a safety device and youngsters are quite savvy, they know what life is like and that they need to have a safety net sometimes."

The system does not use Global Positioning Satellites to track locations. Instead, Mr Jelbert's staff get their information direct from the mobile operators.

This means the technology is not yet 100 per cent accurate. ChildMinder can give a location correct to within 100 metres in areas with good mobile coverage and up to 300 or 400 metres in more remote parts of the country.

Mr Jelbert said: "The degree of accuracy changes because ChildMinder relies on network cells. In places like London there are lots of cells covering a small area while there are fewer cells covering the countryside.

"There is technology in the pipeline to improve the accuracy and when it becomes available our customers will benefit from it.

"However, parents have said during the development process they are happy just to know their child's rough location."

Because the technology relies on co-operation with the mobile phone companies, Mr Jelbert believes he has addressed the main potential concerns, especially regarding paedophiles exploiting the technology.

He said: "We have been part of a working group set up by the mobile operators to create guidelines for the use of location services data derived from their networks.

"The guidelines will be published in February and any provider using location data feeds will have to adhere to the strict registration and opt-in processes.

"No one will be able to be located using ChildMinder unless they give their permission first.

"Because of the nature of our service the parent has to go through extensive checks like credit and addresses to make sure they are who they say they are.

"It is important for us to send out the message that people using the service are traceable and accountable.

"We have also discovered through feedback from lawyers and child protection agencies that paedophiles tend to be scared away as soon as they are presented with any level of accountability."

ChildMinder is not the first text-based safety device for vulnerable youngsters to be developed in Sussex.

Following the kidnap and murder of Sarah Payne, the county's police force introduced the Child Rescue Alert network based on an existing American model.

The first phase involves television and radio programmes being interrupted within minutes of the disappearance of a child.

The second sends mobile phone users crucial details of a kidnap, including descriptions of the child or their abductor.

Thousands of people signed up for the scheme and it was used for the first time last July, when six-year-old Summer Haipule went missing near her Moulsecoomb home.

The Rescue Alert sparked a major police hunt involving hundreds of people. Summer was found 14 hours later not far from her home.

Despite problems with the text messaging phase, it was regarded as a success and has now been adopted nationwide.

Mr Jelbert hopes ChildMinder will also be taken up across the country and hopes to get the system endorsed by leading children's charities.

A spokeswoman for child safety charity Kidscape said the idea of tracking youngsters was not new but this technology seemed to have the most realistic chance of success.

ChildMinder is expected to go on sale next month under the name KidsOK.

Sets are likely to cost £29 per year with ten location requests included, with additional requests available in blocks of 25 for £9.

Wednesday January 07, 2004