A BUSINESSMAN who has supplied thousands of free hi-vis vests to infants hopes to roll out the initiative across the UK.

Mike Trimby started the donations after the death of-five-year-old Shane Bartlett as he walked home from school in Winton.

The accident took place just 100 metres from Mike's house and prompted him to donate vests to local school children.

He said he had bought vests for his employees who work on building sites several months earlier and had also bought some for his two children, aged three and four.

Mike told the Daily Echo: "I decided to buy vests for our local primary school, but we were busy at work, it got slowly pushed to the back of my mind and I didn’t act on it."

After the death of little Shane, Mike donated the 120 vests he had purchased to children aged four to six and since then the initiative has snowballed.

He has received donations from local businesses and from individuals to fund more vests and so far a huge 4,000 have been out to local schools including Winton Primary, Queens Park Academy, Jewell Academy and Stanley Green Infant Academy.

He added: "We put reflective garments on all our emergency services, posties, delivery drivers and warehouse people, most cyclists, runners and even our dogs, why not our kids?"

Saturday January 20 will see a big giveaway event outside Marks and Spencer at the Castlepoint shopping centre between 10am and 2pm and the initiative is now being supported by the Rotary Club of Westbourne and AFC Bournemouth who have offered to buy 1,000 vests.

It is also backed by Dorset Police and Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service who donated the use of Redhill fire station last month for a giveaway event.

Follow the progress of the initiative at #kidsinvis