Lanark pupils protest for lollipop patrols

Parents of pupils at St Mary's and Lanark Primary Schools grasped on to the irony that Monday marked the start of National Walk to School Week to hold protests with children at crossings in Smyllum Road and Cleghorn Road.

Lollipop patrols have recentlty been withdrawn from these routes by South Lanarkshire Council.

Waving banners, they said they feared that their next 'walk to school' could be their last.

The council is sticking to its claim that a road safety survey produced statistics showing that these spots never needed a crossing patroller in the first place.

Over forty St Mary's children gathered in Smyllum Road on Monday to hold a protest, a smaller number from Lanark Primary at the Cleghorn Road/Braedale Road crossing point.

One protester, mum Alison Johnson, said: "It may be the start of Walk to School Week yet our crossing patrols have been taken away as part of cost-cutting to meet deficits, leaving our children, at best, vulnerable and, at worst, with their lives at risk."

The council reiterated its original claims that, statistically, road safety studies found that neither site warranted a lollipop patrol.

It added: "It should be remembered that, fundamentally, it is the responsibility of parents to get their children to school safely."

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