Portsmouth parents invited to free car seat safety check

Date: 27/4/2011

Ensuring a car seat will keep a baby or young child safe can be a priority for mums and dads.

In light of this, Portsmouth City Council are inviting parents to the Commercial Road branch of Sainsbury's on May 5th, where they can have the item checked over by an expert.

Officers at the local authority have revealed that around 90 per cent of child car seats are unsafe, with causes for this ranging from the item being incorrectly installed or not being the right match for the vehicle model.

TRL's Head of Child Safety Marianne Hynd is delighted the council is providing free safety checks on child seats.

"We applaud Portsmouth City Council for promoting this initiative. Ensuring the safety of children when travelling in vehicles is very important," she adds.

TRL will be running child seat 'Check It Fits' events for parents and carers in local shopping areas in Berkshire during Child Safety Week in June, Ms Hynd points out.

"Children are not small adults. They are proportioned differently - their key organs are in different places, their tissues have different strengths and weaknesses and their needs change as they grow. The best way to keep children secure is to select a seat that is appropriate for their size and weight and to make sure it is fitted correctly," she advises.

More information can be found by visiting TRL's Child Safety Centre.