A children's charity has condemned the Government's plans to bring in curfews for children under 16.

The National Children's Bureau said quick-fix curfews were not the answer to beating youth crime and expressed dismay at proposals to extend local curfews to children aged between 10 and 15.

"In the wake of such tragic cases as the murder of Damilola Taylor, it is naturally tempting to seek speedy answers," said Paul Ennals NCB Chief Executive.

"Unfortunately, though, there is no quick fix to the problems of social exclusion. The fact is that curfews are most likely to be imposed on children who already live in deprived areas with poor facilities.

"The effect will be to marginalise these young people still further from the mainstream of society, and to alienate them from local figures of authority.

"We urge the Government to abandon these proposals, which we believe run counter to its long-term aims of tackling social exclusion and regenerating our communities."

The curfew proposals are expected to form part of a new Police and Criminal Justice Bill announced in the Queen's Speech this month.

The charity warned that the curfews would penalise law-abiding young people and their families, and encourage prejudice and exacerbate problems faced by children living in violent or abusive homes and it recommended improving facilities for young people.

Meanwhile Home Secretary Jack Straw has admitted that the introduction in 1998 of curfews on children under 10 was a mistake.

Not a single order has been issued since the legislation was introduced in 1998, and Mr Straw said he should have made allowance for the age limits to be extended to cover older teenagers.

He told BBC1 on its On the Record programme that he had also failed to take into account "the conservatism of the social services departments" for not wishing to go ahead with the orders "for their own reasons".