Police and road safety officers joined forces outside a primary school in Oxford yesterday to remind parents about the new laws concerning children's car seats - but no one was fined.

All children aged under 12 or under 135cm (4ft 5in) must now use the correct car seat for their height, or use a booster seat or cushion.

Julie Jones and Sarah Gniadek-Pitt, road safety officers at the county council, joined four officers from the Abingdon traffic police unit to remind parents about the new laws.

Police are taking a softly-softly approach initially, preferring to educate parents rather than fine them.

Ms Jones and Mrs Gniadek-Pitt handed out leaflets outside Windmill Primary School, in Margaret Road, Headington, informing parents about the changes in the law which came into force yesterday.

Mrs Gniadek-Pitt said: "We want to do everything we can to educate parents about the seating law, so that their children are properly protected.

"The aim is to reduce the number of casualties involving children. All schools in the county have been notified."

Pc Roy Fuller said police officers were not yet handing out £30 on-the-spot fines to drivers.

"Officers are allowed to use discretion for the first few days but after that, the new law will definitely be strictly enforced," he said.

Jayne Hillier, from Headington, who dropped her six-year-old son Josh off at the school, was praised by road safety officers for using a correct booster seat for her son. She said: "Some of the booster seats are quite expensive, but you can't compromise when it comes to safety."

Road safety officers used a height chart outside the school to show which pupils needed to use a booster seat.

Anita Dillon, from Wood Farm, got her seven-year-old son Henry measured, and added: "He has already got one in the back of our car."

Lisa Fox, 34, from Fettiplace Road, Barton, said staff at Halfords in Cowley told her that her two sons did not require booster seats.

They are exempt because they meet the height requirement of 135cm - Joshua, nine, is 138cm (4ft 6in), while her son Jordan, eight, is 140cm (4ft 7in).

County council accident statistics for last year showed that nine adults and five children aged under 15 died in accidents in which not wearing a seatbelt was a factor.

Ambulance staff: 'New rules will be a lifesaver',

Brain damage and neck injuries are just some of the results of not using a child seat, according to ambulance staff.

Staff at Kidlington ambulance station, in Langford Lane, spoke about the importance of fitting children's booster seats yesterday to show their support for the new law.

South Central Ambulance Service training manager Steve Butler said the change in the law was "long overdue" and he hopes it will reduce injuries to children involved in car accidents.

He is pictured left checking the seat used by five-year-old Isobelle Gordon-Hamilton.

Mr Butler said: "We see quite a few serious injuries with either no seat belt or wearing the adult belt, which is just as dangerous. Any reduction in risk to children has got to be a good thing.

"Typical injuries are children with damage to the neck caused by the belt - these are life-threatening injuries.

"We used to go to jobs where the child had slipped underneath the belt into the foot-well.

"I know of one job where a child had permanent brain damage because something had hit the side of the door."