Bradford Council is warning parents of the deadly dangers of nappy sacks after 12 babies have died in accidents nationally in recent years.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has issued a national alert following the deaths of children aged from two-months to a year from suffocation or choking after putting a nappy sack in their mouth.

Common scenarios in the deaths involved nappy sacks being stored within the baby’s reach, such as under a mattress or close to a cot, especially when changing a nappy in the middle of the night, says RoSPA.

Parents are advised to never place nappy sacks in a baby’s cot or pram and to keep them a safe distance from inquisitive babies and young children.

Thousands of posters and leaflets warning families of the dangers of leaving plastic nappy sacks lying near babies are being distributed to GP surgeries, parent and toddler groups and other family centres.

Paul Hill, manager of Bradford Safeguarding Children Board, said: “It’s easy for parents or carers to put nappy sacks down without thinking when they are bathing or changing a baby, particularly in the night when they may be tired, and it only takes a moment for a baby to find a bag and to choke on it.”

Councillor Ralph Berry, the Council’s executive member for children’s services, said: “We often focus on the risk posed to children by plastic bags but nappy sacks are just as dangerous, and there is often little warning of the dangers on packaging.

“Children are naturally inquisitive and want to put objects they find in their mouth, but this can sometimes end in tragedy where nappy sacks are concerned.”