Children's charities have strongly criticised the decision by parents of an 11-year-old girl to implant a microchip in her arm so they can track her down in an emergency.

Danielle Duval is due to be implimented with the £20 chip at Reading University in the next few weeks.

Tink Palmer, principal policy and practice officer at Barnardo's, said: "We need to think about the ethical issues and psychological impact on the young person.

"I'd far rather this didn't happen.

"Surely we should teach our children about being sensible and safe."

Meanwhile, the Children's Society said that microchipping avoids the the "real issue" of how to ensure children are brought up in a safe environment.

Her parents, Paul and Wendy, from Reading, Berkshire, decided to have the procedure done after the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

(Parts of this article appear courtesy of the Community-Care magazine)