HOME Secretary Jack Straw is to give police new powers to tell mums, dads and teachers about the whereabouts of convicted child sex perverts. For the first time, they will get the legal right to warn people when paedophiles with criminal records move into their area.

The news came as a Farnworth mother expressed her fears to the BEN that a convicted child sex pervert who assaulted her two sons could soon be walking the streets again near her home.

The distraught mother of four is convinced Mark Weaver could be released on licence from jail as early as this week.

And the 33-year-old woman, who cannot be named because her sons cannot be identified, is so afraid for the safety of her children that she is planning to move away from the family home in Farnworth to a secret address.

She said: "I am convinced that he will try to return to Farnworth, but my advice is to him is keep away.

"There is so much hatred for him here. I feel I have to speak out not just for my boys but for the sake of other kids in the area.

"I just couldn't feel safe in my home knowing he is out there."

Weaver, 25, was jailed in 1993 at Bolton Crown Court for three offences of indecent assault on the boys then aged 10 and six. Mr Straw's plan is that mums and dads will be informed and police officers will tip off schools and youth groups, distributing pictures of dangerous sex offenders so they can be identified. The measures will add teeth to the introduction of the national paedophile register in the next few weeks.

In another paedophile row on Merseyside, police there say they were unable to prevent a 43-year-old psychopath from being released from a mental hospital.

The police there say they are unable to identify him to parents, teachers and youth workers or issue a photo, even though he was found with a bag of toys and admitted he intended to entice children again. And in North Wales, two child molesters - a man and a woman - are suing police for naming them in the way Mr Straw intends to make legal.

The Blackburn MP decided to act because of growing concern about child sex perverts moving around the country and changing their names to avoid being registered with the police.

Mr Straw's deputy Alun Michael said: "Our priority is the safety of children and there should be hiding place for dangerous paedophiles.

"We will give clear guidance to the police so they can warn the public about paedophiles who are likely to offend again."

Mr Straw is also intending to introduce indefinite jail sentences for most dangerous child sex offenders keeping them behind bars to life.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.