A CALL has gone out to parents who fear for their children's safety to name and shame dangerous roads in the community.

A new hotline has been launched by Brake, the national road safety charity, which can be used highlight roads near schools and in residential areas where they feel children are at risk.

It comes just days after the tragic death of 14-years-old Astley schoolgirl Carmen Mather, who was knocked down in Astley Street on her way to school last week and three weeks after the loss of four-years-old Jordan Daniel Ledwith who was killed in an horrific accident when he was knocked off his bike in Wigan Road, Leigh.

With the help of callers, Brake will compile a dossier of dangerous roads to be presented to Downing Street during Road Safety Week 2005 ( November 7-13). It will also be calling on the Government to take essential steps to protect children, including introducing 20mph speed limits outside every school, providing funding for more safe crossings and pavements and making road safety education in schools compulsory.

All callers will receive a free 'Zak Pack', an action pack of resources to help them set up campaigns and educate local road users and will also be invited to attend FREE training sessions on how to campaign for better road safety in their area.

The hotline can also be used to provide an example of a particularly safe road, such as where a new crossing or slower speed limit has helped children to get to school safely.

The charity's chief executive, Mary Williams, said: "The death toll on our roads is appalling and not enough is being done to save our children's lives. We want people to report dangerous roads where crashes, injuries or near misses have occurred to help us gather evidence for our Watch Out There's a Kid About campaign. The Zak Pack empowers people to take action locally, helping them to save lives in their community."

Residents can take action to help tackle child deaths and injuries by calling the Zak the Zebra hotline on 0800 068 7780 (open 8am-8pm Mon-Fri and 9am-4pm Sat).