A YOUNGSTER is at the forefront of a new road safety campaign to get people to fasten seatbelts at the start of every journey.

Nathaniel Todd is helping promote the 95 Alive York and North Yorkshire Road Safety Partnership scheme.

An image of the five-year-old, from Hutton Conyers, near to Ripon, has been put on posters to drive home the safety message.

The posters aim to ensure parents always properly restrain children in vehicles and to wear seatbelts themselves.

To help reinforce the message the partnership is also using TV star Jimmy Savile’s famous Clunk Click Every Trip seatbelt fastening slogan from the 1970s.

Leanne Todd, his mum, said: “As a parent we have a responsibility to ensure the safety of all our passengers.

“There have probably been times where we’ve all thought that it would be less hassle not to have to mess around properly strapping the kids into the car.

“This campaign is important as it not only highlights the consequences of not properly restraining children but also what the effect would if adult passengers didn’t wear seatbelts.”

The 95 Alive York and North Yorkshire Road Safety Partnership is a multi-agency group including the emergency services and North Yorkshire County Council.

County Councillor John Fort, executive member for road safety, said there was the fewest number of road casualties in North Yorkshire for 20-years.

He said: “There is still a great deal that can be done to further reduce the numbers of people killed and seriously injured.

“Wearing a seatbelt is the single most important thing you can do to protect yourselves in the event of a collision.

“It’s important that, no matter how short your journey is, you clunk click from start to finish.”

Campaign posters are to appear around the area and they will also be fitted to North Yorkshire Fire Service engines.

Chris Anderson, North Yorkshire’s deputy chief fire officer, said: “We have seen first hand the heartache that is caused by road traffic collisions.

“We are fully committed to supporting the partnership in reducing the number of people killed and injured on the roads.”