HARRY WILDER is being watched by Big Brother — or more correctly, Big Mother — as he travels the world on his gap year.

Nineteen-year-old Harry, who will start his studies at Oxford Brookes University in September, has been given a Traakit device, which constantly gives his location, by his parents so they know he is safe.

The device, the size of a credit card but about 2in thick, was created by his uncle David Clayton and sends a GPS signal his parents can monitor via the Internet.

Mr Wilder, of Lower Wharf, Wallingford, said: “It doesn’t bother me at all that my parents know my every whereabouts.

“It has actually worked in my favour because if they can see where I am, I don’t get constant phone calls asking how I am.”

Mr Wilder, a former pupil at the Oratory Prep School at Woodcote, Shiplake College and Henley College, went out to Kenya in January and is now in Australia travelling from Sydney to Cairns.

His friend, Sebastian Knight, joined Mr Wilder in Australia at the end of April and took the Traakit device out with him.

Mr Wilder’s mum, Rachel Wilder, had raised concerns about keeping track of him with her brother-in-law, Mr Clayton, and the inventor suggested he take the Traakit with him.

The teenager said: “It’s not so much of a concern here, but in somewhere like Thailand, if you were to get kidnapped or driven off into the jungle, people would be able to find you from the signal.

“One of my friends was killed in Australia a month ago falling off a waterfall, so people are worrying a bit.”

The technology also keeps a record of exactly where Mr Wilder has been — meaning at the end of his trip he will be able to print a map showing exactly when and where he travelled.

Mrs Wilder said: “The point of a gap year is to go away and not be hounded by your parents but equally as parents, it’s quite nice to know where they are without constantly ringing up.

“From a security point of view, it is quite useful and if one ever was in a situation where you couldn’t get hold of him and you needed to speak to him, it would make me feel much happier just knowing where he was.

“It probably does give me greater peace of mind and Harry is very happy to carry it.”

It costs £279 to buy outright plus £11 a month service charge, or can be rented monthly for £50 a month all in.

Mr Clayton said the device had originally been created to keep track of animals such as horses, and his nephew was the first person to use it to keep his family posted on his whereabouts while travelling.