Fingerprint security has been installed at a Chorley nursery to help protect children and staff.

Busy Bees in Brooke Street, which cares for 350 children, will use new biometric locks which allow nursery staff to register parents' fingerprints in seconds.

Once registered, parents press their fingerprint onto a sensor pad at the door, then leave or collect their children without fuss.

Unregistered visitors ring the bell and wait for a member of staff to admit them.

The Chorley nursery, part of Busy Bees Childcare Ltd, has had the entry system installed by Lancashire based UK Biometrics Ltd.

The scanner identifies key points on the users fingerprint.

No actual fingerprint is stored, allaying concerns about human rights. It is impossible to reproduce the fingerprint, or any part of the print from data stored in the system and the data is only held by the nursery.

Alison Cowell, manager at Busy Bees, said: "Security for children and staff is a prime concern at Busy Bees.

"The biometric access system proves we can maintain high security standards while letting staff do what they do best, caring for our children and helping them achieve their goals."

UK Biometrics regional director Peter Stone, who has two sons at the nursery, said: "Biometrics provides the only key which cannot be lost, stolen, forged or hacked - the human fingerprint."