PARENTS in the North are more clued up when it comes to the dangers of cot death, a survey has found.

Nationally, nearly a third of parents do not receive, or fail to remember, advice they are given.

But of those parents surveyed, 87 per cent in the North of England said they had been told how to minimise the threat of cot death - compared with only 31 per cent in London

Cot death rates have fallen in recent years, but it still claims the lives of 300 babies every year.

Parents should be advised how to reduce the risk during pregnancy, but often aren't informed until much later, the survey by the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) found.

Of those surveyed, 31 per cent said they had not had, or could not remember, discussions on cot death, but results varied hugely depending on where the baby was born.

FSID director Joyce Epstein said: ''Promotion of advice to reduce the risk of cot death is patchy, varying according to where the baby is born, and may come too late, after inappropriate bedding is bought or other unsafe arrangements made."

The FSID has created a cartoon sticker to be given to pregnant women and stuck on hospital cots.

It is hoped it will prompt discussion about cot death at every stage from pregnancy through to birth and beyond.

No single cause has ever been identified, but the foundation recommends: avoid exposing your child to smoke; put the baby to sleep on its back and keep it cool with the head uncovered, and for babies should sleep in a cot for the first six months at least.

Regional figures for discussions were: Scotland 76 per cent, North of England 87 per cent, Midlands 72 per cent, South 65 per cent and London 54 per cent.