500 children 'abducted every year'

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An estimated 470 youngsters were reported abducted in 336 separate cases in 2008, data obtained by the Guardian showed.

More cases involved children being taken to Pakistan than anywhere else, according to the figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.

There were 30 cases of children being taken illegally to Pakistan, while 23 were taken to the US, 22 to Ireland and 21 to Spain.

Australia, France and Egypt also featured on the list of countries to which children were frequently taken.

In around 40% of cases, the newspaper reported, children were taken to countries not signed up to the Hague convention, a multilateral agreement to secure the return of youngsters who have been wrongfully removed or retained in another country.

These non-Hague countries included Bangladesh, Russia, Iraq and Nigeria, it was reported.

Abductions tend be a result of marriages between couples of different nationalities breaking down and the parent who has not been granted custody kidnapping the children, the Guardian said.