Drivers stopped in Peterborough for having toddlers unrestrained in cars

One driver in particular astonished police by claiming they wish the two-year-old girl was not there.

Officers tweeted: "Vehicle stopped in Peterborough with a two-year-old girl sat on the front passenger seat unrestrained. Driver told us it was unfair to pull him over saying “I wish she wasn’t there so I could argue you were stopping me for no reason” Not sure about that logic?"

One reply to the tweet read: "Good grief!! And if she went through the windscreen if he had to stop suddenly and she was injured or worse? She should be his priority not his wish he wasn’t caught!"

Shortly after police tweeted: "Peterborough- another vehicle stopped with an unrestrained four-year-old boy in the back. It’s beyond belief that people would risk transporting their kids like that - we can’t overstate the serious injury potential of an unrestrained child, even in a low speed collision!"

You can be fined up to £500 if a child under 14 isn’t in the correct car seat or wearing a seat belt while you’re driving.

You must make sure that any children in the vehicle you’re driving are:

* In the correct car seat for their height or weight until they reach 135 centimetres tall or their 12th birthday, whichever is first

* Wearing a seat belt if they’re 12 or 13 years old, or younger and over 135cm tall

If your vehicle doesn’t have seat belts, for example it’s a classic car, you aren’t allowed to carry any children under 3 years old in it.

Children over 3 are only allowed to sit in the back seats. These rules only apply if your vehicle was originally made without seat belts.