Schoolgirl is youngest bodyguard in country

All teenage girls want to meet their favourite celebrities, but few end up protecting them from harm.

But 8st Jamie Barber is getting to do just that, after becoming the youngest bodyguard in the country.

The schoolgirl, who turns 18 today, has been given a certificate having undergone a month of intensive training. Licences for bodyguards can only be issued to over-18s, meaning Jamie qualifies as the youngest in the UK. On top of that, male bodyguards outnumber female bodyguards by at least 500 to one.

Jamie, who attends Shire Oak Community School in Walsall Wood, said she has worked all summer as a steward – or unqualified bodyguard working in a group – for her father Mike's company, Red Security.

And she is unphased by the attitude that she would not be as capable as a bigger man.

She said: "If someone attacked, I would move the person I'm protecting, I'm not going to go charging in there. The attackers aren't my issue, the person I'm looking after is and I would get them away from the point of danger.

"A lot of it is about surveillance. I have been all over the country, and have met so many different people. I like doing this kind of work."

She said she could not give away the names of celebrities she had helped, but said she had met all her favourite recording artists.

The month-long course she attended involved training in emergency medical treatment, reaction drills and surveillance.

Father Mike, aged 39, said he believes there is a gap in the market for bodyguards like Jamie who will blend into the background, unlike bigger people.

He said: "I am the normal image of a security guard in this country – a big lump – but Jamie blends in perfectly.

"Depending on what image someone wants to put over, I would look like I am looking after someone, whereas Jamie looks like a friend, or a daughter, and still does the same job."

Jamie hopes to go to university next year and study forensic biology, but will also work for Red Security.