FOR parents the price of failing to make sure children are properly strapped up on the back seat is no longer only an issue of safety - it will now hit the bank balance.

Not only have parents been forking out to pay for new booster seats to adhere to a new driving law but any driver caught breaching the rules faces a £50 fixed penalty fine or being ordered to pay £500 if the case gets to court.

From Monday all children aged under 12-years-old or 1.35m tall must be using a booster seat or cushion when being driven.

Shops have reported unprecedented sales of basic booster seats costing up to £20 as the new law looms.

During the morning school run yesterday opinion between parents dropping off their children was split.

Outside West Kidlington Primary School mother-of-three Debbie Long, 39, of Kidlington, was carrying her seven-year-old son Lewis Harrison safely on a booster seat.

She said: "The booster seat is normally in my car anyway and I've always thought children should be in them even before the new law.

"The only other car my son goes in is my parents and I make sure they use a booster seat. I feel a lot safer if I know they are in a proper seat."

But mother-of-three Zena Leaman, 40, of North Oxford, believes many will be caught out.

She said: "I've got three children and when we go out in the family car using three booster seats it is a bit of a squash. People are going to have to get new cars.

"It's more and more big big brother type laws. If I was pulled over and ordered to pay a fine I would have quite a lot to say to the police - it's ridiculous."

Pauline Rushby, 36, of Kidlington, said: "I've got a spare but will have to make sure if anyone is picking up from a party there has to be enough booster seats for all the children.

"It worries me that you still see kids rolling around in the back of the car and some parents don't even put them in seatbelts."

Father-of-five Geoff Brooker, 58, of Kidlington, made his daughter use a booster seat for the first time.

He said: "It is an inconvenience. It's a problem with flexibility and causes problems if you are carrying other people's kids.

"It is slightly over cautious and another piece of heath and safety over reaction."

Malcolm Collis, manager of the specialist units roads policing, said studies of crash deaths in Thames Valley reveal more than 80 or rear seat passengers would have survived if properly restrained.

He added: "Thames Valley welcome any changes which will further reduce the risk of death or injury on our roads, particularly to children who depend upon responsible adults for their safety."

But the new law is welcome news for traders.

In Toys R Us, Botley Road, the basic booster seats worth £12.99 were selling as quickly as staff managed to put them out.

Booster seats in Halfords, Botley Road, costing up to £20, had sold out on Friday and a fresh delivery of 100 more was expected this week.