Police officers and the army are being issued with new "more accurate and less lethal" baton rounds in Northern Ireland from Thursday.

Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid said the new plastic bullets were safer than the existing ones, when they were announced in April.

However, relatives of those killed by plastic bullets have rejected Dr Reid's assurances.

Dr Reid said a study by the Defence Scientific Advisory Council found the new round would be lighter, faster and made from more robust material.

He said it concluded that the new rounds were "on balance a great deal safer than the existing one".

'Alternative to firearms'

The baton rounds are to be used in situations where they would otherwise be forced to use firearms, he added.

Police officers and soldiers are also to be issued with the new baton rounds in Britain.

However, members of the United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets who have seen the study, said it found there was a greater chance of a round which strikes the head being lodged in the skull.

Jim McCabe, whose wife Nora died after being hit by a plastic bullet in 1981, said the report concluded the new rounds were more dangerous than the existing design.

Chris Patten's Independent Commission on the Future of Policing in Northern Ireland said there should be investment in research into finding an acceptable, less dangerous, alternative to the present baton round.

Its report is the basis of legislation which is shaping the province's new Police Service of Northern Ireland.