Unsafe baby carriers which can send a tiny tot crashing to the ground have been withdrawn by the Gibbons Company.

They have sold 22 Snugli front and back pack baby carriers (style number 075370) but they have been told by manufacturers Evenflo that they are unsafe.

Gibbons Company General Manager Susan Bawn said Evenflo had found that each leg hole was large enough for a small baby to slide through. She said: "We hadn't had any complaints but as soon as Evenflo told us they were recalling the product we withdrew it and placed adverts in the press to warn people.'' "We want to make absolutely certain that people are aware. We don't want to think we have sold an object to a mother that could be hazardous in any way.'' "If this was the US, Evenflo would probably have an advertising campaign about this product recall in all the baby magazines but because this is Bermuda our company has to do this.'' But she played down the threat to children.

She said: "If we were that worried about it we would have been on the TV news talking about it.'' Ms Bawn said: "These products are only for very young babies and it would probably only be underweight babies that would be small enough to slide through any hole.'' Ms Bawn said it wasn't certain that the product recall was because any child had actually had an accident in it.

She said: "Sometimes there is some consumer testing. They might have found a particularly small child could fall out of it.

"Evenflo are a very good company. That's why they have done this recall.

Other companies might have crossed their fingers and hoped for the best.'' She said that the laws regarding baby gear were quite stringent and that the Gibbons Company only bought goods which had been approved by the Junior Product Manufacture Association.

She said: "If people bring their carrier back they will get a full refund.'' CLEARWATER CHIEFS BULLISH ON LEARNING STYLES PROGRAMME ED Clearwater chiefs bullish on Learning Styles programme Clearwater Middle School principal Charlotte Ming and deputy principal Derek Tully have caught an education wave.

The Learning Styles newsletter, sponsored by St. John's University Center for the Study of the Learning and Teaching Styles, focuses on methods to help teachers and students learn.

"Instead of having teachers standing in front of the class, learning styles works by focusing on the different variations children use,'' Mrs. Ming said.

Mr. Tully introduced the programme to the staff of Clearwater in November.

Volunteer teachers initially developed a seventh-grade instructional unit on the rain forest of Peru, complete with floor games, tactual flip charts, task cards and electroboards.

Within a matter of days the students began creating original sources to demonstrate their increasing knowledge and were willingly teaching others.