Мама из Уэллсборо создала защитный чехол для детских автокресел, предотвращающий самоосвобождение детей

Wellesbourne mum’s invention to make car seats safer A Wellesbourne mum who’s invented an ingenious way to stop kids escaping from car seats, says she was driven by desperation. Rachel Moulton found car journeys with her five-and-a-half-year-old son Eli a nightmare, because he had worked out how to release himself from five different types of child car seat harnesses. Eventually, she decided she’d have to design something herself, and, after months of trial and error, she’s come up with a solution, Buckle Jacket. It fits around the harness buckle to stop children from being able to unclip it. Hand-made using layers of rubber-like material neoprene and velcro, she’s also made it in a choice of bright colours. Rachel said: “Eli's severely autistic and non-verbal but he can work out any locks. “I’d be driving along at 60 miles an hour and all of a sudden I’d hear the click of the button and he’d be moving around in the car. “It was so stressful and distracting, I’d have to pull over and find somewhere safe. “I couldn’t find anything on the market that did what I needed it to do, so I started making prototypes and used Eli as my tester. “I came up with all these different options, but he’d still get through it, so I’d think, ‘Right, let's move on to the next one’.” The 48-year-old started off using a glue stick to bond the layers but quickly realised it had to be sewn, so bought a sewing machine and taught herself to sew. And after going for a circle shape with two side attachments, which didn’t stop Eli, her ‘ah-hah’ moment came after she added a top piece that secures the cover three ways so it can’t be lifted, pushed sideways or down. Rachel, who’s an artist and loves problem solving, explained: “I'm autistic as well, and this became my hyper-fixation. “With Buckle Jacket on, Eli can’t undo the button, so it lessens a bit of stress and makes sure he’s secure. “That’s the reason I did it – it was to keep us all safe. “I think there’s a real need for this and not just children with neurodevelopmental issues, it’s a universal problem that kids play with the car seat button because it's right in front of them.” The single mum sells the anti-escape car seat buckle jacket for £25 via eBay and Amazon and has plans to expand to Etsy. She can also be messaged via Facebook and will post or deliver.