PARENTS are being warned not to buy second-hand car seats for their children amid fears they may no longer meet European safety standards.

North Yorkshire County Council is leading a campaign highlighting the fact that many car seat models manufactured as recently as five years ago may be missing vital pieces.

The authority has joined forces with the county's waste management company, Yorwaste, to persuade parents who may be thinking about replacing or disposing of their child's car seat to consider having the old one crushed rather than selling it.

North Yorkshire County Council's environmental services executive member Peter Sowray said: "The problem with used car seats is that, if people buy them as a result of an advertisement or at a car boot sale, they won't know its history or it may not have the fitting instructions. Seats bought five years ago will also not meet safety standards and the only way to ensure you do not put your child at risk is to buy a new seat."

Yorwaste's waste strategy and contracts manager Tony Sharkey said: "We are delighted to be working alongside the county council to encourage people to dispose of old or unwanted child seats at our sites."

To help to get the message across, children from Romanby Primary School in Northallerton were invited to Yorwaste's depot at Scorton, near Richmond, to see the crusher at work.

The council is also offering free car seat safety checks this month, including at the Eastgate car park in Pickering on Monday, June 23; the Safeway supermarket in Selby on Wednesday, June 25; Morrison's in Harrogate on Thursday, June 26; and Asda at Monks Cross in York on Sunday, June 29.

The council's safety assistant, Sheelagh Phillips, also makes regular child car seat checks through doctors' surgeries in Richmond and Northallerton.

New crash tests carried out on child car seats have revealed that many provide poor protection in a 40mph accident.

A dozen of the 52 seats tested by a consortium of European motoring and consumer groups, provided poor protection and a similar number provided the bare minimum.

Anyone who needs information and advice about child car seats should telephone Ms Phillips on (01609) 780780.