IRRESPONSIBLE parents could face on-the-spot fines of up to £500 following shock revelations that one in 10 Dorset children are still not wearing a seatbelt on the way to and from school.

Road safety chiefs say police will be asked to monitor schools where the number of youngsters wearing seatbelts does not improve.

A county council survey showed an average 87 per cent of children wearing seatbelts in parents' cars - no improvement on last year.

County road safety officer Neil Fitch said: "The message is obviously still not getting through to parents of the importance of making sure their child passengers are safely belted in.

"The consequences of not wearing a seatbelt are unthinkable. It is beyond belief that any parent would take such risks before they set off on any journey.

"At one site, nearly 30 per cent of child car passengers were not wearing a seat belt.

"Across Dorset, more children are injured as a passenger in their parents' car than as a pedestrian or cyclist on both the school run and on other journeys, yet parents still take the risk."

Through a programme of education and enforcement, the road safety team and the Dorset road policing unit hope to drive home the importance of always wearing a seatbelt.

Officers will be distributing publicity material to schools near sites with poor seatbelt records, before carrying out further surveys.

Parents breaking the law will be issued with fixed penalty notices.

The maximum penalty for not wearing a seatbelt is currently a £500 fine.

A Bournemouth council spokesman said the authority supported action on seatbelts but was not planning a similar campaign at present.

Lesley Hart, road safety education officer at the Borough of Poole, said: "Although there has been an increase in wearing rates this year, numbers of children travelling unbelted to and from certain schools in the borough is staggeringly high.

"These parents are dicing with their children's lives. We have informed the schools and offered to help raise the children's awareness by using the seatbelt demonstrator.

"I will be keeping a close eye on the situation and if the education does not lead to an improvement I will request some enforcement from Dorset Road Policing Unit."

First published: Oct 9