PARENTS of pupils at Hatherleigh Primary School have raised serious concerns that the school could lose its ‘vital’ lollipop lady after the conclusion of a countywide con-sultation on crossing patrols.

In November, Devon County Council launched a consultation reviewing how school crossing patrols should be funded and provided in the county. The consultation, which closed on January 8, is part of an effort to make savings of £110-million over the next four years.

The consultation proposed that school communities should pay for their own school crossing patrol service, with patrols employed and trained by a separate organisation. The council would retain the legal duty to ensure service standards are met. School crossing patrols are not a statutory service and schools that currently have a patrol would be under no obligation to continue with the provision.

Parents have started to raise concerns that the service will be lost and could lead to accidents should the county council withdraw its funding. Each school day, Hatherleigh Primary’s lollipop lady helps children walking to school cross the road on Bridge Street where the road narrows near the T junction onto South Street.

Andrew Breed, a worried parent, thinks that the removal of the service could lead to a fatal accident. He said: ‘This is absolutely disgusting. That crossing is so dangerous for kids. The road by the old pub, which is now being converted into a vets is narrow and cars go so fast through there.

‘I have heard of a couple of people being clipped by wing mirrors and the sides of cars there. Tuesday is absolute chaos there because it is market day.

‘If we lose the patrol lady, kids will be killed. That’s just how it is. It shouldn’t be like this — we have gone to the council and said it is unsafe there. Cars go through so fast and the school walking bus, which walks groups of kids to school, have also had problems. If it happens it’ll be disgusting.’

Nicola Hutchinson is another parent concerned by the situation. She also said that without the crossing lady, an accident would be inevitable.

She said: ‘If Hatherleigh Primary loses its crossing patrol, it won’t be long before someone gets hurt. By that point, it is too late, even if they were to then reinstate the service.

‘On market day, the road and T junction by the school are incredibly busy. You have to see it really to believe it. It is a vital service to help look after our children and I would say 90 per cent of parents of children at the school would agree.’

Hatherleigh Primary headteacher Caroline Boother said that the school does not yet know the fate of the crossing patrol service and that it is waiting to hear the outcome of the county council consultation before a decision is made.

She said: ‘This is a Devon County Council decision. Schools won’t know their budgets until the very end of February either so, like many other schools, the governors will need to make a decision when they have all the information before them.

‘I am sure that parents are concerned, as are the school staff and governors, but we also have to be realistic about budgets and the capacity of schools to deliver additional services.

‘We keep our parents informed via our school newsletter — we publish it on our website every Friday — and I have spoken personally to many parents who have been encouraged to make their opinions known through the consultation.’

The county council’s road safety service currently employs 80 school crossing patrols, covering around a quarter of all schools in the county at a cost of £200,000 per year, with a further £150,000 spent on support, training and administration.

Speaking when the consultation was launched, Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said: ‘We know how highly school communities value the crossing patrols. The county council holds them in equally high regard and we want to do everything possible to help the service continue.

‘However, the difficulty we’re facing is further cuts being imposed upon us by central Government and services which are not statutory are those coming under the closest scrutiny.’

The results of the consultation should be announced within the coming weeks.