Parent who continue to fail to strap their children safely in their cars could now face a £500 fine.

Yesterday, the Oxford Mail revealed around 200 parents have been fined across the Thames Valley in the first 12 months since a change in law meant all children must be belted-up or in booster seats.

Firefighter Bob Paterson, pictured right, whose 13-year-old son Dale died in a car crash when not wearing a seatbelt correctly, has been campaigning for seatbelt awareness and welcomed the increased fines.

He said: "A life is priceless which is more than a £500 fine so why risk that?

"We need to remind parents their children are the crown jewels. People take out an insurance policy to protect their homes and when they are in a car that seatbelt is the insurance policy."

Oxfordshire fire service launched a 365 alive campaign last year, aiming to prevent 365 needless deaths.

The campaign urges drivers and children to wear seatbelts at all times.

Mother-of-three Claire Johnson, a family support worker at Cuddesdon Corner Family Centre, said: "I don't think it has been treated seriously enough.

"No-one has ever come through our doors and said they've been fined or pulled over for not having their child in proper booster seat.

"But this fine would make parents wake up because it's a fine few people could afford. I think the majority of parents would begin to take it seriously."

In the past 12 months, 187 fixed penalty notices were handed out to parents who failed to have their child in the correct booster seat.

Most offenders were handed a £30 fixed penalty notice. However, if they appealed against the penalty, the maximum fine will rises from £200 to £500.

The new penalties come into force at the beginning of next week, as part of the Road Safety Act 2006.

They include doubling the maximum fine for people found guilty of careless and inconsiderate driving from £2,500 to £5,000. People who fail to provide the identity of who was driving a vehicle will have the number of points on their licence doubled from three to six.

Malcolm Collis, head of Thames Valley Police roads policing specialist unit, said: "These new penalties will hopefully make motorists think twice before committing a motoring offence.

"We do not wish to have to issue penalties or take anyone to court but we will do so when the law is broken.

"In particular, those who seek to avoid a speeding conviction by not telling us who the driver was will now get twice as many penalty points as they would have for the speeding offence."

On Monday, ten parents were caught outside Wood Farm Primary School, Oxford, having failed to properly secure their children.