MacLaren insists pushchairs safe

PUSHCHAIR manufacturer MacLaren has said it will not be recalling any of its products sold in France, despite a safety scare in the US after 15 children lost a finger.

The American consumer security watchdog has demanded that a million pushchairs sold in the States over the past decade be recalled.

However MacLaren France said it would not be doing the same. Instead it is putting in place a customer advice line and is offering customers a small piece of fabric to protect the folding mechanism.

The manufacturer said in a statement to Le Post that the pushchairs conformed to safety norms and the number of incidents was "small compared with the number of products sold".

"We are asking customers to pay close attention to the instructions that come with the pushchair," it said.

"We have updated our operating manuals and included a warning note on all products to remind parents to keep their children away from the pushchair when they are opening or collapsing it."

MacLaren said parents who were worried could contact them. It said it would also update its website with more information.

The models concerned were manufactured between 1999 and this year. They are the Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, Techno XLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller.

Photo: The company's Twin Triumph model