As travel restrictions ease and people go on holiday in the UK many will be heading into the great outdoors with their caravans and trailers.

Drivers are being urged by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to carry out simple checks before heading off.

Data from DVSA’s roadside checks shows caravans and trailers can experience problems with key safety features like tyres and lights:

- Around one in six caravans DVSA stopped had a serious safety problem.

- Nearly four in 10 small trailers had a serious safety problem.

- The main safety issues were lights, illegal tyres, breakaway cable problems and poor brakes.

Three-year-old Freddie Hussey was killed when a trailer became unhitched as he walked near his home in Bristol in 2014. The #towsafe4freddie campaign was set up to remind all drivers to carry out basic safety checks each time they tow. DVSA is carrying out roadside checks to try and avoid similar tragedies.

DVSA’s Chief Driving Examiner, Mark Winn said: “DVSA’s priority is to help you keep your caravan or trailer safe to use on Britain’s roads.

“It’s great to see caravans and trailers returning to the road but drivers who tow have a special responsibility to ensure they #towsafe4freddie.

“Many caravans and trailers have been parked up over winter, so we’re urging drivers who are new to towing or haven’t towed for a while to carry out some simple checks. Our ask is, whatever you’re towing, make it SAFE.”

Pick up this week’s Post for the latest safety advice.