STAY safe reminders are now in place in Port Stephens holiday locations thanks to Port Stephens Council and The Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation.

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The “Holiday Time” campaign in Port Stephens will be conducted alongside similar campaigns 29 other NSW areas where the Foundation’s colourful signs with messages like “Hold My Hand” and “Slow Down Kids Around” will be on roads, in parks and around beaches.

Tom’s mother Michelle McLaughlin founded the Little Blue Dinosaur to prevent other families going through a tragic loss like the one her family have endured with the death of Tom through a road accident.

Michelle McLaughlin told News Of The Area, “As a nurse I knew the moment I saw him that we had lost him, the impact that the car made at 50km per hour, left such terrible head injuries on Tom.”

Four year old Tom had been in a front yard and driveway area with family immediately before the accident.

She believes that children under ten years of age need to be managed near roads, they need to have someone holding their hands, and as parents and carers we need to have the conversation about the fact, that when we are in different places, on our holidays we all need to take extra care, especially when crossing roads on the way to and from beaches.

Mayor Ryan Palmer told News Of The Area, “The signs around busy spots like Little Beach will hopefully prevent accidents.

“As a parent it is really important that we get the road safety messages to children as soon as possible, it only takes a split second for something to go wrong, it is our goal to see everyone home safe after the holidays,” he said.

By Marian SAMPSON