British police earlier this year briefly held the 13-year-old Dutch girl, Laura Dekker who is planning a solo sailing trip around the world, her lawyer has confirmed.

In May, Ms Dekker sailed her 8.3m yacht Guppy from the Netherlands to Lowestoft on the English coast, the Volkskrant daily reported on Thursday.

When she prepared to set off for the return voyage across the North Sea, local authorities judged it too dangerous for a 13-year-old to be at sea alone. They telephoned the girl's father Dick Dekker and asked him to come over and accompany his daughter on the trip home.

Solo crossing
When Mr Dekker refused to comply with the request, Lowestoft authorities placed Laura in a children's home. On her website, Laura briefly refers to this episode in veiled terms, saying "In England I met a couple who run a children's home. They were very kind and showed me many nice spots in England."

Mr Dekker then changed his mind and travelled to the UK. When Laura was with him on the Lowestoft quayside, he decided she was able to go and make the crossing on her own, as had been the plan all along, and sent her off. The British police then contacted their Dutch colleagues, who alerted the social services' youth care bureau.

Parents
The Dutch Child Protection Board has taken legal steps to suspend parental custody and make Laura a ward of court, in order to prevent her from setting sail. The board told a court on Monday that a 13-year-old girl is not up to a dangerous solo trip around the world which is likely to last two years. The court will issue its verdict on Friday.

Laura's divorced parents are experienced yachtspeople and approve of her ambition to become the world's youngest around-the-world solo sailer. Her father supports her wholeheartedly, while her mother appears to have resigned herself to it, in order to preserve the relationship with her daughter.

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