SAFETY experts are warning that children could be in danger on the roads as they walk home from religious classes in the dark.

Now they are handing out nearly 14,000 yellow high-visibility vests to the youngsters, as well as holding a series of road safety talks at faith centres for children and parents.

Thousands of children in Bradford regularly go to after-school religious lessons at Islamic madrassas, Sikh gurdwaras and other faith settings.

Road safety teams say the new vests will make sure these youngsters are visible to motorists as they walk to and from classes on dark, wintry evenings.

They are also urging parents to accompany any children aged 11 and under.

Official road safety figures show there were 14 deaths on the district's roads in 2014, as well as 190 serious injuries. Bradford Council has already set out ambitious plans to halve this number.

Bradford Council's road safety team has now teamed up with the Bradford Safeguarding Children Board on this new £25,000 project, funded jointly by the NHS and Council.

Rashid Karolia, an advisor for the board, said: "Given the dangers on Bradford's roads, there are obvious concerns out there.

"Because of the busy city centre, we need to encourage our children to be safe and wearing these vests.

"There are obviously a number of casualties and one casualty is too many for me. It is important we get this message across and it is important people do wear these vests."

And Mr Karolia has clear advice for parents about what age children should be before they are allowed to walk to classes on their own.

"All children of primary age, 11 and under, should be supervised. That's my view," he said.

"I would advise against getting older children to supervise younger children, because it is not their responsibility.

"It is the parents' responsibility to make sure they are taken from home, then collected inside the building to be taken back home.

"Children aged 11 and under should always be supervised as far as I'm concerned.

"It is common sense at the end of the day. I always say to parents and other people that a child is a gift - my belief is that a child is a gift from God.

"We should look after that gift. It is a precious gift and we should never forget that."

Board chairman David Niven said: "We all know that there are too many casualties on Bradford's roads each year, so any steps which can be taken to help keep our children safe is welcome.

"It is also important that parents as well as children are aware of road safety."