Children will be at risk when patrols are axed (From Wirral Globe)

Children will be at risk when patrols are axed

2:30pm Thursday 20th November 2008 in News By Carol Emmas

A lollipop lady who has been crossing youngsters over a busy road for 29 years says it will have to take a child to be knocked over for Wirral Council to realise it is making cuts in the wrong places.

Caroline Brooks, 63, has been a lollipop lady near St Saviour’s School in Oxton since 1979.

In that time she has seen the road grow from a quiet lane to a busy thoroughfare.

Among the many other pupils she takes over the road twice daily she has also crossed her own children and is now crossing her grandchildren over Holm Lane so they can safely get to school.

The news that the authority was axing 18 lollipop men and women in a bid to save £50,000 came as a shock when she found out from the front page of the Globe that her job was on the line.

But Caroline said: “This is not about me, this is about the children.

“The social services department have declared that this road is not a busy road, but I work on it and I can tell them I have saved many a child from walking out into oncoming traffic.

“And this is not something that is infrequent - this is an every day occurence.

“It only takes one car for a child to be knocked over and there are hundreds that pass here daily.

“It’s a sad story when the council are making cutbacks that may endanger children’s lives.

“The council now want the school to pay annually for the service should they wish for it to continue, but I don’t feel the school should have to pay, as we all pay enough taxes as it is.” Parent Yvonne Griffiths, from Overton Close, who has three children at the school, said: “My eldest boy is in his last year and the children are encouraged to walk to school on their own to give them a sense of independence before they go on to secondary school.

“At the moment I feel it’s safe because Caroline is here, but there is no way that I would let him do that if there wasn’t a school crossing patrol. This is a very busy road and cars speed down it. I know that the council have to make cuts, but not at the expense of children’s safety.”

June’s daughter Emma Starkey, who was helped across the road by her mother and whose own children now attend the school, added: “It’s not logical that this service should not be required when roads across the borough are becoming increasingly busy.”

The proposal to axe the crossing patrols needs to verified by Wirral Council cabinet and full council.

Liberal Democract councillor Jean Quinn, the council’s cabinet member for Streetscene and transport, has said “schools and volunteers” would instead be offered “help and support” in any efforts to replace the road monitors.

It is part of the £4.5m worth of cuts the council says is necessary for the next financial year.