Back in the day, public information films were a regular thing on TV screens and were guaranteed to put the fear of God into any youngster with the misfortune to watch them.

From Charley the cat warning us not to play with matches, to the Grim Reaper telling us not to go anywhere near water, they were designed to shock and even after all these years, they seemed to do the trick.

I have never swum in a quarry or flown a kite near a power line and that is almost certainly a result of watching these terrifying productions.

Several decades on, it is clear they undoubtedly worked, as our generation became one of the most safety-conscious of all after being terrified into not doing things that looked great fun, but we graphically saw the results and they were not pleasant.

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The UK Public Information Films (PIFs) were often dramatic, sometimes terrifying short films aimed at educating the public on safety and social issues.

They were government-commissioned short films broadcast during television advertising breaks in the UK, covering topics such as fire safety, road safety, child protection, and environmental awareness.

While PIFs existed from the 1940s, the 1970s are remembered as a particularly intense era, with films often designed to shock children and adults into safe behaviour.

They were produced primarily by the Central Office of Information (COI) and supplied to........

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