Children’s ‘killer car seats’ found for sale online even though they’re illegal

Children's car seats that were made illegal in the UK in 2014 have been found for sale online according to consumer group, Which. 

The illegal car seats offer "almost no protection" and were found to fail to protect children in car crashes as slow as 30mph after a crash test carried out by Surrey Trading Standards and Britax in 2014. 

Dubbed "killer car seats", they were removed from sale at the time but Which has found a number on sale for as little as £8 on sites such as eBay, Amazon and AliExpress. 

The consumer group said the seats were described as suitable for newborns and children up to five, even though they had a proven lack of adequate support to protect babies and toddlers. 

It claimed that websites should recognise the selling of dangerous and illegal products and remove them from sale immediately.

"Parents will be horrified at the thought they could be unwittingly putting their child's life at risk with one of these 'killer' car seats," said Alex Neill, managing director of Which home products.

"Online marketplaces cannot continue to turn a blind eye to dangerous and illegal products being sold on their sites."

EU regulations dictate that only approved child car seats that have been put through safety testing can be used in the UK. They should carry a clear orange label with codes ECE R44-03, ECE R44-04 or ECE R129.

eBay said it had had asked sellers to organise returns and refunds with customers, while Amazon confirmed that the seats were no longer available and that sellers could have accounts deleted.

AliExpress said they "continue to take action against sellers who violate our terms of use".