A NEW campaign to get children to "belt up" is being mounted in Bolton after figures revealed 114 young passengers a year are being injured in accidents on the town's roads.

Bolton road safety officers are using a cuddly teddy bear in the campaign, which starts today, in a bid to cut down on preventable injuries and deaths.

They say fewer children would be hurt if parents took more time to ensure their children were properly restrained in vehicles.

At Christmas four children under 10 from one family were injured and needed hospital treatment after the van they were travelling in was involved in a crash in Little Lever.

Three children in the back weren't wearing seat belts and a one-year-old boy was sat on his mother's knee in the front.

A police crackdown in Bolton last year resulted in 80 drivers in just six days being given on-the-spot fines for allowing children to travel without seat belts.

The new campaign features a teddy bear accident victim in a story booklet titled "Teddy Takes a Tumble".

It tells the tale of a boy called Billy who does not strap his bear in the car and the toy flies through the air, smashing into the windscreen when the boy's mother is forced to brake sharply.

The booklet will be distributed to schoolchildren throughout the area in the hope that they can influence parents to make sure seatbelts are worn.

Statistics reveal that an unbelted back seat passenger is three times more likely to suffer serious injury or death than someone wearing a belt.

And it is estimated that nationally 40 front seat passengers die each year as a result of being hit by unrestrained back seat passengers.

Trevor Higson, Bolton road safety officer, said: "Unfortunately we still see many children bouncing around in the back of cars. It only takes a relatively short space of time to make sure a child is restrained in the car."

Courts can impose fines of up to £500 for the offence.