Tens of thousands of families caring for elderly relatives at home could be breaking the law by locking them in for their own safety.

Up to 53,000 people in private homes and supported living arrangements are "deprived of their liberty", according to official estimates, by carers and family members who do not have the correct permission to do so.

Many older people are held by relatives who are concerned that they might wander off and get hurt.

It is currently very costly and time-consuming to apply for formal permission to do this.

This means that hardly any families actually have the correct permission to lock their loved-ones in - and many of them are leaving themselves open to breaking the law.

Families could risk committing the offence of false imprisonment, kidnapping or wilful neglect.

Care homes and hospitals must apply to the local authority for a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard if they want to keep someone detained.

People caring for another person in a private home can't do this. Instead they have to ask the local authority to apply to the Court of Protection for permission - a time-consuming and emotionally difficult process.

Last year appropriate permission was applied for in just 1,400 cases, according to official figures.