Parents in Shropshire today backed a new scheme which will help to protect their children from paedophiles.

The Sex Offenders Disclosure Scheme comes after years of campaigning for more access to information about sex offenders by Sara Payne.

Her daughter Sarah was murdered by a convicted paedophile who had been released from prison and the scheme has become known as “Sarah’s Law”.

The scheme was launched by West Mercia Police yesterday after it become one of 18 forces to take up the idea as part of the first phase of a national roll-out.

Emma Lee, 34, from Horsehay, Telford, has a 10-month-old daughter Jess. She said: “I agree with the disclosure scheme 100 per cent but it has to be approached sensibly as some people take the law into their own hands.

“As a new parent anything which involves the safety of my child is top of the agenda”

Jill Valentine, 39, from Lilleshall, said she would definitely use the disclosure scheme if she had any concerns about someone who was in contact with her one-year-old son, Noah.

“I do think this is a good idea – we need to do everything we can to safeguard our children. It is good to know that if we did have concerns we would be able to have access to that information,” she said.

Pam Wilson, 68, from Sutton Hill, Telford, who launched the Grandparents’ Action Group today said the scheme should be approached with caution.

“In some ways it is a good thing but in other ways it depends on how it is policed.

“I think it is quite sensible for the police to have the information and to know where the convicted sex offenders are but the police should have the information and do their job with that information,” she said.

“It is a very emotive subject but I fear people may have this information disclosed to them and then won’t be able to stop themselves telling others.”

Chief Constable Paul West, who has led the campaign on the management of violent and sexual offenders for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: “It was aimed at parents, guardians and carers but practice has shown it’s much wider than that. It empowers people who have concerns about those with access to children to register their concerns to the police and know it will be looked into. It’s about putting the power into the hands of the public.”

Councillor Cecilia Motley, lead member for children and young people’s services at Shropshire Council, said the new scheme would be a “straightforward, helpful process”.

By Crime Correspondent Kirsty Smallman