CHILDREN as young as five or six have been dicing with death by playing "chicken" in a residential road in Fair Oak.

Youngsters are leaping into the path of horrified motorists in a potentially deadly game.

One driver, who narrowly avoided the youngster in Pilchards Avenue, told police that when he confronted the children they said they were jumping in front of any cars that came along.

Now police and community leaders have launched a plea to parents to face up to their responsibilities and have appealed to anyone seeing youngsters putting themselves at risk to get involved and stop them.

Motoring organisation the AA has warned that the game could end in tragedy.

Spokesman Rebecca Rees said: "Children only get one life and they must be made aware of the dangers. Kids have got to know that the road is for vehicles and there must be education from parents and the schools."

She said that while there was no excuse for the dangerous behaviour, drivers needed to be vigilant.

AA figures show that pedestrians hit by a car travelling at 30mph have a 50-50 chance of survival. At 20mph there is a 95 per cent chance and at 40mph there is only a five per cent chance of surviving.

Eastleigh based Chief Insp Jill Baldry told the Daily Echo: "As a police officer and a parent, I would urge anyone who has care and responsibility for children to ensure their safety. Allowing them to play in the street and run out in front of cars is clearly ignoring this responsibility. Children should be made aware that roads can be dangerous places and should be treated with respect."

Chief Insp Baldry added: "It is always saddening for police officers to attend road accidents, particularly where a child has been unnecessarily hurt. Incidents of this nature cause lifelong distress for the drivers involved."

She confirmed that the Pilchards Avenue area appeared to be a "problem area" and confirmed that a near miss had been reported.

Chief Insp Baldry said: "Anyone seeing children undertaking this activity should intervene and do whatever is necessary to stop children endangering their lives. They should notify the children's parents or contact the police."