A FORMER management consultant who developed what she says is a safer type of children’s cot has won funding to take the product to market.

Katharine Paterson came up with the idea three years ago after worrying that her baby daughter Evie could be hurt or trapped by a traditional cot.

And after researching the safety issues, she found many children are injured by getting caught in bars or even suffocating under fabric cot bumpers.

“Every parent wants to know that their child is in a safe place,” said Paterson, who is from Capheaton, near Belsay in Northumberland.

“My eureka moment was when I bought cot bumpers to seemingly protect Evie as she moved around in her cot, but on reading the small print on the packaging there was a warning saying they shouldn’t be used once your baby can sit up and is more active as there is a danger of suffocation. I realised there had to be a better way.”

She drew up designs for the Kare Cot – a convertible crib, cot and toddler bed – after looking at mesh-sided collapsible travel cots.

“What’s different about this compared to other cots is that the Kare Cot is completely soft-sided.

“There are no bars, so any risk of entrapment caused by the bars of a traditional cot has been removed. As a result you don’t need a cot bumper, so there is no risk of suffocation either.

“An additional benefit is no more rummaging on the nursery floor in the middle of the night to retrieve soft toys and dummies which have fallen through the bars! The Kare Cot looks very different and will certainly stand out on the shop floor.”