A scheme to provide families with affordable child safety equipment was launched yesterday.

The project, devised by SureStart Brandon and Deerness Valley, aims to reduce accidents in the home for families with children up to the age of four.

Help will be available for families in areas covered by the SureStart programe, including Bearpark, Brandon, Esh Winning, New Brancepeth, Ushaw Moor and Waterhouses.

The launch follows a successful pilot scheme involving 50 local people.

Safety gates, first aid kits, safety fireguards and carbon monoxide detectors are available.

Lynsey Embleton, scheme manager, will provide advice and support and arrange dates and times for collection of the equipment.

Ms Embleton said: "In the UK, almost 600,000 children a year under the age of five visit hospital A and E departments as a result of an accident in the home and hundreds of children and young people are killed in accidents.

"Burns and scalds are very common accidents, with over 28,000 children under the age of five injured in burn and scalding accidents in the UK in 2002.

"The tragedy is that many of these deaths and injuries are preventable.''

For more information on the scheme, call Ms Embleton on 0191-373 4844.