Families in Bath & North East Somerset are being urged by the Royal Society for the Prevention Accidents (RoSPA) to take action to protect their children from the risks of household cleaning products.

The latest phase of the Take Action Today, Put Them Away campaign, funded by the UK Cleaning Products Industry Association (UKCPI), was launched today (June 8) during Child Safety Week.

This follows the scheme's success in twenty six areas of the UK including Birmingham, Liverpool, King's Lynn, Nottingham, Newcastle, Bradford, Lincolnshire, Warwickshire, and Northern Ireland where 500,000 families have been helped to prevent poisoning and eye injuries.

In Bath & North East Somerset, accidental poisonings accounted for 60 emergency admissions for 0 – 4-year-olds between 2018/19- 2020/21.

As part of the campaign, a handy magnetic notepad featuring key safety advice will be handed out to thousands of families by health visitors and children's centre staff.

Ashley Martin, RoSPA's public health adviser, said: "The notepad acts as a constant reminder in family kitchens to store cleaning products out of reach, out of sight and in a locked cupboard.

"Due to their inquisitive nature, children under the age of five are most at risk of accidentally swallowing or getting household cleaning products, like liquid laundry capsules, into their eyes. Even products with a child-resistant closure cannot guarantee safety - they only reduce the risk by delaying access to the product."

Philip Malpass, from the industry's trade body, the UKCPI, said: "Cleaning products are designed to be safe to use and to provide the clean and hygienic home we often take for granted today. The accidents we see involving young children and cleaning products are avoidable and whilst the severity of the injuries are generally low, we hope that this campaign will remind parents to follow the usage instructions on the packaging, and in so doing, avoid unnecessary accidents."

Councillor Dine Romero, cabinet member for Children and Young People, Communities and Culture, said: "Through the B&NES Injury Prevention Partnership our public health team works hard to reduce the risk of injury to children and young people. As part of our ongoing work to prevent unintentional injuries in B&NES, the partnership is delighted to work alongside RoSPA to support parents and guardians in B&NES to keep children safe at home."

Val Scrase, Regional Director of HCRG Care Group in B&NES, Devon and Wiltshire, which runs community health and care Services on behalf of Bath and North East Somerset Council said: "We are delighted to support this campaign, as it is so important to raise awareness of hazards within households so that parents are armed with all the information they need to protect their children from harm. We will be doing all we can to promote the Take Action Today messages as part of this campaign and beyond for the benefit of families across B&NES."

Take action today, put them away advice to parents includes:

• Store household cleaning products out of reach of children, preferably in a locked cupboard

• Always store chemicals in their original containers

• Never pierce or break laundry capsules or tablets

• Always close the lid of any product

• In the event of an incident, follow advice on the product pack and seek medical attention.

UKCPI is the leading trade association representing UK producers of cleaning and hygiene products from household soaps, washing powders, liquids, disinfectants, air care and polishes to the professional cleaning and hygiene products used in industrial and institutional applications.

It provides advice and guidance to manufacturers, distributors and users of cleaning and hygiene products. UKCPI also works in partnership with policymakers, the public and the media, to inform public discussions about cleanliness, hygiene and sustainable cleaning.

Further information on the Take Action Today campaign can be found at www.rospa.com