Children could be stopped from buying alcohol using face recognition technology similar to that used by police to identify criminals.

Children could be stopped from buying alcohol using face recognition technology similar to that used by police to identify criminals.

The system is being piloted by Budgens supermarket in one of its London branches. If successful it could be rolled out across the country to create a database of youngsters who try to buy alcohol.

The system alerts a cashier if it ‘recognises’ someone who has previously been unable to prove they are 18. It is believed to be the first time the biometric technology has been used by a British retailer in this way.

The software takes measurements between key points on the face to make a template of a person’s features that is stored as a ‘token’. Customers’ images are monitored and relayed to a control centre to be compared with under-18s already on record.

Many other independent retailers and supermarket chains are interested in the system, according to Charlie Willets, managing director of Charton Ltd, the Worcestershire-based company supplying the software. The company is hoping to create a national database for use in stores and possibly pubs.