Reunite said that more frequent foreign travel and the breakdown of national borders makes it easier for a parent to take children abroad against the wishes of an ex-partner.

Last year the charity, which deals with families whose youngsters have been taken abroad against their will, had 274 new cases of parental abduction.

These cases involved almost 400 children.

Delegates attending a conference in Edinburgh have been discussing ways of tackling the problem.

Campaign launch

Mother-of-two Louise Soliman was reunited with her two-year-old daughter Darine earlier this year.

The little girl and her older sister Karina had been abducted by their father's family while visiting them in Egypt a year before.

But with the help of two Glasgow politicians the little girl and her sister are now back home in Clydebank.

Janet Russell, who is fighting to get her three youngest children back from their father in Tunisia, said more needs to be done to raise the profile of such cases.

Janet Russell: "More needs to be done"

The conference is aimed at raising awareness so that lawyers, social workers, ports officials, and police can act swiftly if abduction is threatened.

Strathclyde Police Det Supt Graham Vance said: "We can make immediate ports warnings to stop these abductions happening. However, very often the police are not involved in these matters until there is very little time to act before the child is taken out of the country."

Reunite is to launch a campaign which aims to raise awareness of the problem and to give parents advice if they think their children may be at risk of abduction by an ex-partner.

Campaigners are also calling for policing and immigration regulations to be tightened so that it is more difficult for people to take their children out of the country illegally.