Children as young as five and six are being taught pedestrian skills in a bid to reduce the number of youngsters killed or injured on north Wales roads.

In the past three years there have been five children killed on local roads, 69 seriously injured and 404 slightly hurt.

Youngsters are being taught practical skills

The Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions wants to reduce this figure by 50% over the next ten years.

The 'Kerbkraft' scheme, which has been funded by the Welsh Assembly, will be officially launched on Friday.

The youngsters will receive practical training rather than lessons in the classroom and they will be taught how to recognise dangerous places to cross the road.

Each authority has appointed a Child Pedestrian Co-ordinator who are responsible for training of the children.

Casualty figures

The project is currently running in Denbighshire, Conwy and Wrexham - Flintshire are expected to implement the initiative in September.

Flintshire County Councillor Meirion Matthews has backed Kerbkraft: "The scheme aims to reduce the number of children killed or seriously injured on our roads.

"By working together we can strive to reduce the child casualty figures even further."

The training scheme is a progressive initiative and will take up to 18 months to complete.

Parents and family members are being encouraged to join in and volunteer to promote safety awareness to their youngsters.