Travellers to be tracked online

More than 200 Britons went missing abroad this year

A security system that tracks travellers and warns their loved ones when they do not reach their destinations has been developed in London.

Researchers have devised an internet-based computer programme that sends an online alert if relatives and friends on trips aboard fail to meet a pre-arranged schedule.

Travellers simply enter the details of where and when they plan to go, then notify the system using the internet or a phone when they arrive at each of their destinations.

The researchers are seeking commercial partners to help get their product up and running in the new year.

If you are in trouble you won't necessarily be next to a phone so this system will work on your behalf

Researcher, Dan Winfield

More than 200 Britons have gone missing abroad this year, and in some cases it was weeks before their families and friends realised anything was wrong.

Researcher Dan Winfield told the BBC: "If you are in trouble you won't necessarily be next to a phone so this system will work on your behalf."

But some people believe the system could add to the worries of those waiting at home.

STA Travel's Louise Clark told the BBC: "We believe very much in sending people away to do independent travelling.

"If they were to fall in love with India and decide to stay two months instead of two weeks and this tracking device then sends a message home saying that they haven't been located, that would really worry a parent."