A YOUNGSTER is helping save lives on the road by re-launching Jimmy Savile’s famous Clunk-Click Every Trip seatbelt campaign.

Nathaniel Todd was joined by North Yorkshire County Council’s Seatbelt Sheriff to begin the 95 Alive Partnership Road Safety scheme.

The five-year-old, from Hutton Conyers, near Ripon, is already featured on 95 Alive posters with the iconic 1970s message on.

Yet the road safety partnership, made up of local councils and emergency services, says 444 adults and 109 children were not belted up in a recent survey of 8,300 vehicles.

To reinforce the message the Seatbelt Sheriff went Sharow Primary School, near Ripon, to see Nathaniel on January 21.

David Bowe, 95 Alive chairman, said: "This campaign reinforces that wearing a seat belt really can make the difference between being slightly injured in a crash or being killed.

"Drivers have a moral responsibility for the safety of themselves and all their passengers and are legally obliged to ensure they and any passenger under the age of 14 is wearing a seatbelt."

The Clunk Click Every Trip campaign was launched by Jimmy Savile in 1972 for the Department for Transport.

Since 1983 it has been illegal not to wear a seatbelt and it is felt that over 50,000 lives have been saved by them since then.

A lot of work has been done to stress the importance of wearing a seatbelt but many are not paying attention.

The 95 Alive team found that the number of adult passengers not wearing seatbelts had risen from 5.8 per cent two years ago to 6.1 per cent in this year’s survey.

Councillor John Fort, North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for road safety, said: "For most people, putting their seatbelt on is automatic.

"We need everyone to be like that, but it seems there are a small number of people who are not, even though it could save their life."

Roads policing inspector Dave Brown, of North Yorkshire Police, said: "The impact of being unrestrained and thrown forward is devastating.

"I have lost count of the lives saved by the simple practice of wearing a seatbelt, which takes just a few seconds."

Veteran broadcaster Jimmy Savile, said: "Most accidents occur within the first mile of a journey, which means that if you don’t belt up straight away you could be in trouble just round the corner."