ELEVEN of Wirral’s lollipop men and women will face the axe in the council’s controversial decision to make cuts in school crossing patrols.

A newly-developed risk assessment report will now see seven of the originally proposed 18 saved.

Eighteen crossings were under threat after being determined by a recommended mathematical formula laid out by the RoSPA, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents that equated the number of children crossing to the number of vehicles over a half-hour period.

A public outcry last year greeted the cuts, which were set to save Wirral Council £50,000, when parents objected over concerns for children’s safety and a possible increase in accidents if crossings were removed.

But a review of the criteria used to select them meant council officers had to look again at the formula and have made concessions that could see seven of the 18 crossings saved.

Dave Green, director of technical services, said: “I consider the generic formula based on the criteria recommended as essentially sound, however following the resolution last December a revised ‘Wirral based criteria’ has now been developed.”

Fourteen additional factors with “site specific issues” such as road width, accident record and visibility have now been added to the guidelines.

Upton Conservative councillor Tom Anderson said: “Applying a complex formula when children’s safety is at risk is absurd.

“What happened to common sense?

“At St Michael's and All Angels School in Woodchurch, small children, some unaccompanied are crossing a busy road, on a bend, which is on a main bus route.

“I don’t care if the road doesn’t conform to a formula that sounds like Einstein’s theory of relativity.

“I only care about keeping small children safe.”

A report going to Wirral Council "cabinet" meeting next Monday, February 23, recommends that each site will be reviewed within a rolling three-year programme from 2010.

Crossings that are proposed to be retained are Eastham Rake, Holm Lane, Poulton Road, Rocky Lane, Thurstaston Road, Albany Road and Withens Lane.

The report said that the proposed re-instatement of the seven school crossing patrols will result in a shortfall in the budget of £20,000.