A limited version of 'Sarah's Law', allowing parents to carry out sex offender checks, has been launched in Devon and Cornwall as part of the nationwide scheme.

The child sex offender disclosure scheme went live yesterday after several successful pilots in other parts of the country.

A parent, carer, guardian or other interested party will now be able to check the background of someone who has access to their children. But before information is released, each application will be carefully screened and the applicant will be visited by a specialist officer to check that the inquiry is genuine.

In some cases, where an offender is managed under a multi-agency public protection arrangement (MAPPA), the decision on whether or not to disclose will be taken jointly by police, probation and other agencies.

Yesterday, police headquarters would not reveal whether any applications had been made already in Teignbridge.

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