SCHOOLCHILDREN will start the New Year with a sobering message for motorists about road accident casualties.

Pupils from St Peter's Primary School will march into nearby Gigg Lane stadium with their hard-hitting message during the Shakers' fixture with Swansea on Saturday, January 10.

As part of Bury Council's road safety campaign, the youngsters will walk on to the pitch at half-time with 1,029 balloons, each one representing a person injured or killed on Bury's roads last year.

Some of the children will also be dressed in a black T-shirts as grim reminder of the drivers, passengers and pedestrians who died.

The St Peter's children have themselves been touched by the tragedy of road accidents. In the past three years, 20 people have been injured in some form of vehicle collision within the school's catchment area.

In 18 of those cases, the driver was directly responsible, either because he or she was not looking, was speeding or had been drinking.

Councillor Stella Smith, executive member for environment and transport, said: "All the road safety unit is doing is asking drivers, even those who consider themselves to be good drivers, to think about the way they drive.

"We are also asking pedestrians to take more care.

"Drivers and pedestrians can all benefit by thinking about what they are doing and have a second look for that car coming towards them that they may have missed at first glance, or the child crossing the road they may have failed to spot."