WILTSHIRE Police is the first force in the country to sign up to the enhanced child rescue alert system.

Child Rescue Alert, is run by NCA (National Crime Agency) CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) and managed alongside the charity Missing People and is a partnership between the police, the media and the public.

It helps locate missing children who are perceived to be in imminent danger of serious harm or death and where there is sufficient information available to enable the public to assist police to locate them.

The new system will allow alerts to be sent out through both social and digital media, the internet, text messages and mobile apps. There is no cost to the public or to the police.

For Wiltshire Police it means every officer and staff with a work mobile phone will automatically receive a text message whenever a Child Rescue Alert is activated.

Messages can also be targeted, depending on the location of the incident.

Pat Geenty, Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police, is also the national policing lead for Missing Persons.

He said: “This is an extremely critical tool in locating any missing child whose life is considered to be at serious risk.”