Avon and Somerset Police are making GPS Tracking devices available to vulnerable adults in the latest phase of its Dementia Safeguarding Scheme.

Thirty GPS trackers will be supplied by Somerset-based company MindMe, thanks to £7,000 in funding from partners Bristol Water and Wessex Water.

They will be allocated by the force’s specialist Missing Person Co-ordinators on a referral basis to those recipients considered most at risk of becoming a missing person.

Around 70 per cent of people living with dementia may go missing at least once, with some being at risk of going missing multiple times.

Sadly, this can sometimes have life-threatening consequences.

Sgt Stuart King, who runs the Dementia Safeguarding Scheme on a voluntary basis, said: “I’m delighted to be able to announce the launch of this much-needed addition to our safeguarding scheme and would like to thank our external partners for contributing the necessary funding to make it possible.

“Wearable devices are not a substitute for good care, but when a vulnerable person is reported missing, every minute counts and that is where modern technology can make a crucial difference. I’d strongly encourage anyone caring for a person living with dementia to look into GPS tracking devices if they can.