DRIVERS in Warrington are being asked to belt up and make sure their passengers do the same to help reduce the number of injuries on the town's roads.

Police will be clamping down on motorists who are not clunk-clicking as part of a nationwide initiative by the National Seat Belt Campaign.

The main emphasis will be on rear-seat passengers as well as making sure children are adequately and safely secured in the car.

Figures suggest that while 90 per cent of front-seat passengers always buckle up, only 54 per cent of those travelling in the back do the same.

Not wearing a belt in the back increases the risk of people seriously injuring themselves as well as harming passengers sat in the front.

Sergeant John Hayes, from Warrington's traffic division, said: "We've got to get the message across that everyone should wear their seat belts and it's rear seat passengers that we are especially targeting.

"Just because you're in the back of the car it doesn't mean you're safer and people risk serious injury to themselves as well as front-seat passengers," he said.

Warrington police will launch their campaign in mid-April, with all officers handing out fines to anyone caught not wearing a belt.

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