BE aware of potentially deadly hazards such as window blind cords and nappy sacks – this is the message from Essex Trading Standards during Child Safety Week from Monday 23 June to Sunday 29 June.

An Essex toddler died in her cot after she became tangled in the loop of a window blind cord and was strangled in October 2010. It can take just 20 seconds for a toddler to die by strangulation if they get tangled in a blind cord. Each year up to three children die in this tragic way in the UK.

Four children have died in the last eight years after suffocating on plastic nappy sacks. Most recently a seven-month-old Staffordshire boy was found dead with a nappy sack across his mouth after pulling it through the spindles of his cot.

Essex Trading Standards are advising parents, grandparents and carers of young children to make their homes secure against these threats.

Cllr Roger Walters, Essex County Council Cabinet Member responsible for Trading Standards, said: “It takes just moments for a child to become injured or even die from a household hazard. It is very important that anyone who has children in their house makes sure that it is safe by following these simple safety tips from Trading Standards.

“It is important to remember that there are other hazards that place young children at risk including leaving them alone in a room with dogs, or running around with sharp implements.”