A CAMPAIGN to reduce the number of child casualties in the Basingstoke area caused by not wearing rear seatbelts is being launched by Hampshire County Council.

The "Belt Up in the Back" campaign will be promoted through adverts at bus stops in Basingstoke, Hook and North Warnborough in a bid to get the message across.

The campaign is targeted at three specific groups. It aims to educate parents of toddlers about the dangers of not ensuring their children are properly restrained in the back seats of cars, to remind parents of junior school-aged children to use child restraints on all journeys, and to change teenagers' perception that wearing belts in the back is unfashionable.

Last year in Basingstoke, there were 23 child casualties relating to rear seat passengers. In both 2000 and 2001, there were 39 and in 1999 there were 26.

Government targets state that the number of child casualties on the road must be reduced by 50 per cent by 2010.

Hampshire County Council's executive member for environment, Cllr Keith Estlin, said: "Seatbelts are life-savers, and our campaign aims to raise awareness of the importance of wearing them in the back as well as the front.

"No journey is too short - you wouldn't leave a valuable vase unsecured on your back seat, so why do so with your child?

"I hope our campaign will raise awareness among parents and teenagers of the need to spend a few seconds belting up. The dangers of not doing so are obvious."