Scotland is to introduce a nationwide rapid alert system to track children who have been abducted, following a campaign by the parents of Madeleine McCann.

The system will mirror the Amber Alert system in America, where descriptions of abducted children are flashed on radio, television, motorway gantries and advertising hoardings within hours of them being snatched.

A similar scheme will be introduced south of the border with every police force in the UK being notified almost immediately, with the possibility of alerts being delivered to home computers and mobile phones.

Since the disappearance two years ago of Madeleine McCann from a holiday complex in Praia da Luz, Portugal, her parents Gerry and Kate have pressed for the introduction of a Europe-wide scheme. The British government believes it could save children’s lives.

The Amber Alert scheme was introduced in Texas in 1996, following the kidnapping and murder of nine-year-old Amber Hagerman and has led to the safe recovery of 446 children. It has also been adopted in France and Belgium.

It is designed to spread information, including up to date photographs of a missing child, as widely as possible during the critical first six hours following an abduction when they are at greatest risk.

The alerts will also give details of where the child was kidnapped, a description of suspects and any vehicle that may have been used for the abduction.

Stations will broadcast newsflashes every 15 minutes for up to six hours, with scrolling text directing viewers to news text pages.

To prevent the public becoming desensitised to alerts, the scheme will only be used when police have reasonable grounds to believe a child has been abducted or is in imminent danger.

Charlie Hedges, of the National Police Improvement Agency, a Home Office-funded quango which will run the scheme in conjunction with the police, said he expected it to be introduced in the autumn. “The point of it is to save children’s lives and minimise harm. I would expect it to be used four or five times a year so we don’t erode public support and goodwill.”

Police officers in Scotland are in talks with local and national broadcasters and government agencies and expect the scheme to be launched later this year.

Fergus Ewing, the Scottish minister for community safety, said: “It goes without saying that the abduction of a child is an unimaginably traumatic experience, the worst nightmare for a family.

“The response to a suspected abduction of a child must be immediate and co-ordinated. The Scottish child rescue alert system should be fully in place by 2010.”

A spokesman for the McCanns said: “Kate and Gerry have worked tirelessly for the introduction of such a co-ordinated child rescue alert system across Europe. They are delighted that such progress is now being made in the UK.

“However, they stress there is a lot of work to be done and a long way to go before children across Europe as a whole can be protected by such a co-ordinated system.”

Anne McLaughlin, an SNP MSP, said she supported the scheme but warned that it should not be overused if it is to be effective.

Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats back the idea.

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