School-run violence drives lollipop people off the roads

In recent years the ranks of Britain's lollipop men and women - or school crossing patrols to give them their formal title - have been dwindling at an alarming rate.

There are now only 28,000 school crossing patrols, leaving at least 25 per cent of posts vacant across the country as wardens quit their jobs in protest at low pay and a rise in the number of attacks by irate motorists. It is a recruitment headache for local authorities and hundreds of schools lack adequate cover.

A senior civil servant says the Government needs to examine whether lollipop men and women, who are often prevented from taking other employment by awkward hours, should be included in a tax exemption scheme for essential public workers.

But while low pay is an important issue, many patrols also point to an increasing atmosphere of violence and intimidation as the reason for their declining numbers. At least 100 serious road accidents involving lollipop men and women were reported to the DfT in the past year alone.

"Young mothers or retired people, who make up the majority of patrols, are easily deterred by verbal abuse from drivers, parents and children," says LARSOA chairman Steve Whitehouse. "Many drivers fail to stop for crossing patrol officers even though it is a legal requirement to do so. Lollipop people are regarded as unofficial and considered as a nuisance by drivers in a hurry."

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