Number of children 'at risk' rises in Guernsey and Alderney

The number of children at risk of abuse and neglect has more than tripled in five years, according to a report covering Guernsey and Alderney.

The numbers rose from 29 at the start of 2010 to 97 at the end of 2014, according to the Islands Child Protection Committee report.

Dr Carol Tozer, the committee's temporary chairwoman, said there was a "very significant rise" in 2014.

But, she said early intervention work had since caused the number to fall.

Nicky Gallienne, acting assistant director for child health, said: "Those numbers have considerably reduced due to the proactive interventions that have taken place over the last six to nine months.

"[They] now stand at 47, which is in keeping with average numbers for Guernsey over the last five years."

Dr Tozer said there had been a bottleneck with everything going through one assessment team, but now all the agencies - including schools and police - were meeting on a daily basis.