THE electronic tagging of young offenders which was piloted in Bolton has been extended.

New powers to tag 12 to 16-year-olds were given to the town's youth court in April to make them observe a night-time curfew.

The Greater Manchester area which includes Bolton was one of six street crime hot-spots chosen by the government to take part in the trial.

As a result of the success, courts across England and Wales will now be able to order the tagging of teenagers thought to be at risk of breaking bail conditions and committing more crimes.

The scheme was first used in the fight against crime in Bolton in 1995 when the town took part in Greater Manchester trials of tagging convicted criminals.

The latest system involves a small radio transmitter, known as a Personal Identification Device (PID), which is attached to the offender's ankle.

It will send a signal to a monitoring unit when the offender is due to be at home under curfew and if they are not in on time, the police will be alerted.