"ALARMING" new figures reveal that two thirds of child car seats in Bradford and neighbouring districts are fitted incorrectly - putting youngsters at serious risk.

Safety checks were carried out at 25 events across West Yorkshire in recent months - and the findings from those checks have been branded "very worrying" by a senior policing figure.

More than 63 per cent of child car seats were found to be incorrectly fitted during the inspections. Out of 763 seats, only 280 were deemed safe.

In one of the Bradford events, held at Asda in Rooley Lane on September 6, a total of 35 seats were checked, with 74 per cent incorrectly fitted, with almost half of the errors being deemed "major or incompatible". Inspectors described the findings from that event as "alarming."

The figures were even worse when similar tests were carried out on cars at Tesco in Brighouse on September 12, with 77 per cent of child seats not fitted correctly.

Keighley fared much better in the statistics, with 54 per cent of child car seats incorrectly fitted at the town's Asda and 57 per cent at the town's Morrisons store. 

And one of the best results came at Morrisons in Heckmondwike, where a much lower 37 per cent of seats were found to be incorrectly fitted.

The events were organised by the West Yorkshire Vision Zero Partnership in collaboration with Good Egg Safety CIC.

Seats were checked by a safety expert with issues ranging from minor such as a slightly loose base, to more serious such as incorrect belt routing, to the extreme with some children found to be forward facing too young or being completely unrestrained.

Following the findings of the events, parents and guardians are being encouraged to double check their seats.

Alison Lowe is concerned by the findings of the inspections Alison Lowe is concerned by the findings of the inspections

Alison Lowe OBE, Chair of the West Yorkshire Vision Zero Board and Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, said: “Nothing is more important than the safety of children so we must all ensure that they are protected when travelling on our roads.

“The fact that around two thirds of seats are fitted incorrectly is very worrying and I would now hope that everyone with children will book in some time to double check.

“West Yorkshire Vision Zero seeks to reduce all road deaths and serious injuries to zero by 2040 and the ambitious plan needs us all working together.”

Janis James MBE, Chief Executive for Good Egg Safety added “It has been a privilege to collaborate with our valued partners across West Yorkshire to improve child safety in cars.

“Parents and carers are often shocked to discover that their irreplaceable children are travelling unsafely, and they are deeply appreciative of this free service. Through continued partnership, we aim to reduce preventable child occupant casualties."

It is the intention that more car seat check events will be held in 2025 with details to follow as they become available.

A report from the events, looking at West Yorkshire as a whole, states: "Overall, out of the seats/children incorrectly fitted, there were 331 minor errors found (69%), 136 major errors found (28%), and 16 seats were found to be either incompatible to the vehicle or child (3%).

"31% of errors found were major or incompatible. Although still unacceptably high; in comparison to other regions in the UK where our experts find around two thirds of errors are classified as major or incompatible, it is an encouraging start."

Video guides and further advice is available at https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/car-seat-check/.