THE best New Year's resolution parents can make this January is to be on the lookout for head lice, Worcestershire residents are being told.

This time of year is when head lice are most commonly transmitted, and parents are urged to look for them and know how to treat them.

Dr Gerald Coles, a senior researcher in parasites at Bristol University, said: "The onus is on parents to ensure their children's heads are lice free with regular head checks.

"When you have 600 or so children heading back to school in January, all it takes is one child who hasn't been checked at home to start a full-blown infestation.

"Parents must be aware of how easy it is for their child to get lice.

"Already we've seen that head lice are becoming much more difficult to control than they were several years ago with the products that are available.

"One reason is that head lice are developing resistance to these products.

"Given they've been on the market for up to 20 years, that's plenty of time for head lice to evolve and become resistant."