Parents are being sought to teach young children how to cross roads safely following a £3 million Government grant.

East Sussex County Council is one of 37 authorities in England which has succeeded in securing a slice of the cash to train volunteers.

The county has been given £90,000 over three years.

The authority will begin road safety work next summer targeting children aged five to seven in schools across East Sussex.

Figures revealed there were 2,608 road accidents involving children aged between five and seven in England last year.

The new funding is the second phase of a five-year research project launched in England last year.

Road safety minister David Jamieson said: "We know it is possible to teach young school children practical skills in crossing the road, which they will remember.

"If we can catch them early, they will have these skills throughout their life.

"We also know that children in deprived communities are at a greater risk of being involved in an accident than children from better-off families.

"We need to target these and concentrate on those areas with a casualty problem."