PARENTS are being offered lessons in kerb drill - to save their youngsters from death and serious injury.

Back-to-basics sessions are being held across east Cleveland by a concerned Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.

Mike Hall, the council's road safety officer said: "We are all guilty of being in a rush and not waiting for the green man, walking diagonally across the road, or dodging through moving traffic to cross the road, and there's no doubt that hasty road safety habits are picked up by children.

"We aim to show it is not difficult to do it properly. The extra seconds won't really matter - but they could save your children's life. So it has got to be worth it."

His comments coincide with Government research, which shows that almost three in four parents do not always use zebra or pelican crossings to cross the road, if they are in a hurry.

And almost two thirds of parents questioned did not always wait the extra few seconds for the green light before crossing the road.

One in five also admitted to crossing the road while talking or texting on a mobile phone.

Road Safety Minister David Jamieson said on the Department of Transport's website: "Actions speak louder than words with road safety and while most of us think we know the ground rules, it is easy to forget that children will cut corners if they see us doing so."

The council is offering two- hour lessons on Defensive Walking for parents, available by request to any of the borough's 13 libraries.

The courses have been running for about a year and Mr Hall said they had proved popular. As a result, various groups have been trained including teaching staff and retired men's and women's groups.

A new Government road safety booklet, Lessons in Life, has also been sent to 20,000 primary school children in the borough this week, which they are encouragedto read with their parents.

Mr Hall's back-to-basics call to parents comes just a week after police and road safety officers revealed a crackdown on speeding drivers is proving a success.

Teesside's 35 speed cameras have led to a halving in the number of serious accidents in the area.