A NEW handy pocket guide designed to help keep children and young people safe in Worcestershire has been distributed across the county.

About 10,000 copies of the Practioner's Guide to Safeguarding and Promoting the Welfare of Children have been sent out to a range of agencies and organisations as a quick reference booklet for people who work with youngsters.

The guide compiled by the Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Board - which includes members from Worcestershire County Council, district councils, West Mercia Constabulary, and Connexions - has been sent to colleges, the Probation Service, voluntary and community organisations, as well as all of the six district councils across the county.

Chairman of the Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Board Richard Hubbard, who is also the county council's director of children's services, said: "The guide is a quick reference point for all people who work with children and young people and helps them recognise when they should be concerned about a child and what action to take."

The Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Board was created in 2005 following the Children Act 2004.