A ban on smacking could save the lives of up to 50 children a year, it has been claimed.

Speaking at a fringe meeting at the Labour conference in Brighton, Kevin Williams, chief executive of The Adolescent Children's Trust, said legislation banning the practice would reap long-term rewards.

Williams argued a change in the law would lead to a change in attitudes towards children and the use of violence on them.

"It would be a way of changing the way we think about our children, our neighbours and our community," he said at a meeting titled Children at Risk - What Should be the Role of the State in Family Life?

"If we were to ban smacking we would save 50 children a year who die at the hands of their parents."

His call comes on the back of research published this month that found physical punishment was bad for children and made them more likely to show antisocial behaviour.

Last year a cross-party group of MPs failed to force through a ban in England and Wales on smacking children after there was just four hours to debate legislation in the Commons.

The NSPCC estimates that one child is killed at the hands of their parent every 10 days in England and Wales.