Parents warned wearing a coat in a car seat could put your child's life at risk this winter

As temperatures plummet this winter in Scotland parents are being warned against putting their children in the car still in their winter coats.

This is because if your child is in their coat while strapped in there could be a large gap between them and the straps.

If you are involved in an accident your children may not be restrained properly if you crash.

Instead for safety reasons your child's coat should always be removed, and you should place the coat or a blanket over them to keep them warm instead, RSVP Live reports.

Safety experts have warned that parents may actually save their child's life by doing so.

Parents should remove coats and jackets before putting their child in the car seat (Getty)

The Good Egg Safety video shows a boy being strapped in a seat while wearing his coat. When he takes the coat off and puts the straps back on, they are loose.

Margaret Bolt, Good Egg Safety car seat expert, says: "Without adjusting the harness and doing the buckle back up, you can see how much movement there is in those straps and how much slack there in fact still is.

"Now if they wear a winter coat in a car seat and the car is involved in a crash, all the padding in the coat will be compressed and effectively this is how loose the straps are and the child could be ejected from the seat."

So it is very important to ensure you take your child's coat off when strapping them in even if you're in a rush or stressed out.