More than 40,000 children across the Towns are to be given reflective tags to wear on their clothing to make them more visible to motorists as part of Road Safety Week.

The tags will be delivered to schools by Medway Council's community safety wardens and safer journey officers and given out during road safety lessons from Monday.

Sue Ormes, principal road safety officer, who was the driving force behind the idea, said: “Our research shows more pedestrians are hurt in the darker winter months and one of the main factors is that drivers can't see them.

"Wearing bright coloured, reflective or fluorescent garments, whilst cycling or walking, is an easy way to make sure other road users notice you, especially in bad weather.

“Reflective materials can be seen at about three times the distance of a simple white fabric and are better at bouncing car headlights back to the driver.

"By providing each child with a simple clip-on reflector,that can be attached to a book bag, rucksack or coat, means they can continue to be seen, stay active and safe by the roadside during the dark evenings."

The initiative is funded by Public Health to ensure as many children as possible in Medway are equipped with at least one item of reflective clothing to improve their visibility to traffic.

Sally-Ann Ironmonger, public health improvement manager, said “Walking to and from school has many health benefits to offer families, so I am very pleased to support this initiative.

"Walking is free and is known to improve children's academic performance, arriving at school alert and ready to learn."