Safety fears have prompted Land Rover to order the recall of tens of thousands of Freelander off-road vehicles.

The carmaker, part of the Ford empire, has urged owners of Freelanders built before March to return their vehicles to dealers for checks on three design hitches.

The most common leaves the handbrake on some Freelanders prone to release after a jolt such as the slamming of a car door.

The other faults relate to a seat back mechanism, and an engine harness carrying electrical circuits.

The recall affects all Freelanders built at the firm's Solihull plant, which prepares the vehicles for markets worldwide.

In the UK alone, the number is thought to amount to almost 69,000.

'Handful' of complaints

A Land Rover spokeswoman told BBC News Online that the recall followed customer research, and a "handful" of complaints to dealerships.

"Because this is concerned with safety, and safety is of paramount importance, we want to get Freelanders in to rectify any of these faults," the spokeswoman said.

The announcement will come as a setback to a vehicle which has won a string of awards, and ranks as Europe's best selling four-wheel drive vehicle.

The recall is expected to lead to extra shifts at Solihull for Land Rover workers as well as a busy time for Land Rover dealerships, a BBC correspondent said.

And it comes one day after US car giant General Motors said it was recalling 314,000 "minivans" in the US because of a fault discovered in door latches.