ONE of the region's leading child health experts has urged parents to be more aware of the potentially deadly symptoms of diabetes in babies and toddlers.

Dr Bill Lamb, a paediatric diabetes specialist at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, regularly sees children who are desperately ill because their parents did not realise that their toddler has type one diabetes.

If it is not diagnosed this can result in a potentially life-threatening condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA.

This condition recently claimed the life of a seven year old child in Liverpool. Dr Lamb said he regularly sees children who need to be given intensive care because they are so ill with DKA.

Yet the symptoms are easy to detect - a quick and simple urine test can be done aNY local GP surgery which will detect type one diabetes within seconds.

Symptoms include: * Excessive thirst.

* Going to the toilet extremely frequently.

* Bed-wetting.

* Weight loss.

* Excessive, unexplained tiredness.

* Blurred vision.

* Sweet or fruity smelling breath.

Dr Lamb made his plea during National Diabetes Week.

"Sadly we are seeing too many children admitted to hospital with DKA.

"DKA is a life threatening condition and tragically children do die as a result "But it is preventable. That's why I am urging parents to be alert to the symptoms - excessive thirst, going to the toilet very frequently, weight loss wetting the bed at night again and unexplained exhaustion - so they can ask for their children to be checked out quickly. "A very simple test that takes a matter of seconds, and can be carried out at the GP surgery or out of hours centre can instantly tell us if a child is likely to have type 1 diabetes.

"It is very important that the test is not delayed until the following day if parents are suspicious that their child has these symptoms.

"The sooner we know, the sooner we can start appropriate treatment."

Dr Lamb said on rare occasions untreated DKA can lead to the brain swelling, resulting in permanent brain damage.

Anna Morton, director of NHS Diabetes, said: "We are working with our paediatric, diabetes network to ensure that healthcare professionals are alert to the symptoms of type one diabetes in children."