TEACHERS, residents and councillors have urged people to come forward after a primary school was left without a lollipop person.

Children who attend Lower Darwen Primary School in Lower Darwen have been without a roadside watch since the end of April, leading to concerns over their safety.

The school is sited on a ‘bottle neck’ road and is near to a corner that obscures views of traffic.

The council has said it is looking to fill the position at the school and has taken efforts to provide cover for ‘priority’ sites.

Alan Wilkinson, who lives on Milking Lane, said: “I was horrified when I realised there wasn’t going to be one there after the previous worker retired.

“I think it’s essential to have one within 300 yards of the school because the road gets very busy and cars come whizzing around the corner.

“I would say it should have been considered as one of the priority sites because of this.

“If you want to encourage people to walk to school with their children you have got to make it safe by making sure a lollipop patrol is present.”

Headteacher Steve Cumbo said staff had given children lessons on how to safely cross roads in the meantime, but said he would like to see an additional lollipop person installed directly opposite the school.

He said: “We have advised children to cross the road safely but in an ideal world we would like to have a lollipop person directly outside the entrance to the school, because we had a narrow miss when a car almost hit a child a couple of months ago.”

Councillor Maureen Bateson, executive member for regeneration, said: “We actively try to recruit to each school crossing point when they become vacant and provide cover on a priority needs basis across the borough as a whole.

“We are looking to recruit at Lower Darwen Primary and officers will be contacting the school and community to see if they can work together to find a new crossing patrol person.”

If anyone is interested in applying contact 01254 273505 for more details.