Baby walker danger alert

European consumer groups said yesterday that baby walkers can kill children and called for them to withdrawn from sale. They had been unable to find a single model in Europe which was safe for babies to use.

Jim Murray, director of BEUC, the European federation of consumers' organisations, called for better safety standards and said existing baby walkers - wheeled constructions that help toddlers to get about and learn how to walk - should be taken off the market.

In Britain 2,800 accidents involving baby walkers were reported between 1984 and 1995. Nine out of 10 babies required medical treatment and one was killed when he went over the edge of a roof garden.