Fines handed out in seatbelt crackdown

Officers carried out 13 checks at 10 different schools across Battle and the villages as part of a Europe-wide crackdown on drivers who refused to wear seatbelts.

Of those caught, 40 were spoken to by police and four were handed £60 on-the-spot fines.

Police say parents at Battle and Langton School were the worst for failing to belt up.

Officers patrolling outside the school on Monday last week spoke to three parents who were not wearing their seatbelts.

But it appeared the message had not quite sunk in, as the same three people were caught at another spot check at the school last Friday.

The three were subsequently fined.

No children were found not wearing seatbelts.

Sergeant Paul Masterson, of Battle Police, said: “After finding so many people without their belts on, we are making it part of the PCSO duties to be at the schools on a regular basis to check on them.

“We will be monitoring the situation.”