SEVEN child sex offenders with regular access to children have been uncovered in Dorset, thanks to Sarah’s Law.

Fifty concerned families contacted Dorset Police since they adopted the scheme, campaigned for by the mother of murdered eight-year-old Sarah Payne (right), in October.

The seven parents or guardians who’ve had their suspicions confirmed had a face to face meeting with officers to discuss their child’s safety, but also signed confidentiality agreements not to tell anyone else.

After 25 applications in the first month, they’ve dropped off to a monthly average of eight or nine. Around half of enquiries spark an investigation.

Detective Inspector Paul Kessell heads up the Child Sex Offender Protection Scheme team.

He said: “The scheme puts people in a position to protect their children and that’s got to be a good thing. We look into everything as quickly as possible and where it’s necessary make a disclosure about someone’s history.

“The parents get reassurance and we work through what they’re going to do to make their children safe.”

There have been no incidents of vigilantism, DI Kessell added.

“Tight confidentiality controls have restricted who knows what within the community,” he said.

“If there had been anything outside the norm we would have reviewed whether we should be doing this, but it’s been nothing but successful.

“If anyone has concerns I’d much rather they asked us and it turned out to be nothing than carry it out themselves.

“We will take any opportunity to protect children living in Dorset, and I think we’ve struck the fine balance between the rights of individuals and all of our duties to protect children.”

People should still trust their parental instincts and be vigilant if a check comes back negative, he said. Concerns can be reported at dorset.police.uk