Electronic tagging of persistent juvenile offenders while they are on bail is to be put on trial in the county.

Oxfordshire Youth Offending Team, which which is leading the initiative, hopes tagging will reduce crime while also keeping young people out of jail and giving them a better chance to turn their lives around.

Steve Crocker, deputy manager of the team, said Oxfordshire had about 40 persistent young offenders and it was this group which would be targeted first.

Last year, about 2,400 young people went through the court system on bail in the county and, of those, 103 offended while on bail.

It was expected between five and 20 young people between the ages of 12 and 16 would be tagged at any one time by the youth offending team, which is a partnership between social services, probation, the health service, education department and the police.

The initiative is being piloted in the Thames Valley and five other areas from April 22 before being introduced across the UK on June 1.