A recent intelligence-lead survey of ‘part worn’ tyres on sale in Grimsby found 9 out of 17 were unsafe and some were deemed ‘safety critical’.

The tyres were checked by a tyre safety expert and seized by the Council’s Trading Standards officers using powers under The Consumer Protection Act.

Each year more than 1,200 motorists in the UK are injured in an accident where illegal, defective or under inflated tyres were a contributory factor.

Trading Standards manager Neil Clark said:

“Obviously not all part worn tyres are unsafe. However, many traders do not realise that a repair to a part worn tyre should comply with a British Standard and that they should be trained to do this. Not everyone can or should be repairing part worn tyres.”

Figures provided by Tyresafe, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of correct tyre maintenance and the dangers of defective and worn tyres, show that the average cost per mm of useable tread of on a part-worn tyre is £6.33 per mm whereas a comparable new tyre is cheaper at £5.32 per mm.

Additionally, the braking distances on a wet road for a vehicle travelling at 50mph can be up to 12 metres longer for a part worn tyre. When replacing tyres Tyresafe always recommend fitting new tyres.

Stuart Jackson, TyreSafe chairman, said:

“Buying part worn tyres is not only a false economy but it also comes with many more risks than buying new.

“A part worn only has to have 2mm of tread depth, leaving just 0.4mm – half the thickness of a bank card – before it needs replacing again.

“That assumes it was fit for purpose and safe in the first place and regrettably survey after survey shows this is not the case most of the time.

“TyreSafe would urge any motorists considering buying part worns to think again.”

For more information about the Tyresafe campaign, visit www.tyresafe.org. If you have concerns about a trader in North East Lincolnshire selling defective part worn tyres then contact Trading Standards on [email protected] or 01472 326299.