ROAD safety officers are warning parents, grandparents and carers about the dangers to young children of incorrectly fitted child car seats after checks found 75 per cent were flawed.

During a free event 27 child car seats were examined, with three quarters found to have either major or minor faults requiring alterations – echoing last year’s national statistics.

In 2015, 71 per cent of child car seats in the UK were found to be not safely fitted or incompatible to the child or the vehicle.

To tackle the issue, the council has adopted the award-winning Good Egg In-Car Child Safety campaign to benefit from its proven record of success in significantly reducing casualty rates among child passengers throughout the UK.

St Helens Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Councillor Lisa Preston said: "It's a startling fact that an unrestrained child passenger can suffer fatal injuries in a collision at less than 5mph.

"Although well-intentioned parents may install a child car seat to protect their child, the danger of serious injury is just as great if the seat is not fitted correctly or if they have chosen the wrong type of seat for the height, weight and age of the child."

The checking event took place at Tesco Extra Linkway, during last week’s Child Safety Week, and dozens of residents received advice and information.

Parents can find out more about the campaign by contacting St Helens Council’s Road Safety Team on 01744 671656 or by visiting goodeggcarsafety.com

Councillor Preston added: "We are delighted to be launching the Good Egg campaign in St Helens and strongly urge anyone with responsibility for carrying children in their car to learn more about this vital issue by contacting the Road Safety Team."