A NEW package of safety measures could be introduced to improve safety for pupils at four East Lancashire schools.

'Walking buses', car sharing, and improvements to road safety are among the ideas being considered to provide youngsters with safer routes to school.

The suggestions came from the results of a survey of pupils and parents at the schools, asking for their thoughts on how children travel to school.

The school travel plan is part of Lancashire County Council's Safer Routes to School initiative, which aims to reduce traffic congestion and promote road safety.

The survey went out to parents and pupils at Mount Pleasant Primary School, Earl Street, All Saints CE Primary School, Church Street, and St Mary's RC Primary School - all in Clayton-le-Moors - and St James CE Primary School, Burnley Road, Altham.

It was spearheaded by Coun David Myles, Altham ward councillor. He said: "People were in favour of a walking bus scheme and car sharing but some of the things that came up from a safety point of view were quite good because it showed there was a joint understanding."

One of the suggested improvements to road safety was reducing the speed limit from 40 miles an hour to 30 outside St James School, in Burnley Road, Altham.

"Drivers tend to do about 50 down there so we are hoping to pressure the county council into dropping it down to 30 and putting extra warning signs up," said Coun Myles.

Another suggestion was installing a pavement on both sides where the canal meets Whalley Road, Clayton-le-Moors, so children walking to school will be safer. At present there is only a pavement on the south-bound side.

"We are also hoping to make Victoria Street one-way because we want to put the pavement in and that would make the road narrow.

"When you come off the canal, cars turn left very close to the wall and it's a bit of a blind spot."

Nearby Wellington Street is already one-way.

As well as all the pupils, more than 500 parents took part in the survey.

From the responses Coun Myles said a map would be drawn up illustrating how many children lived in each area and how they travelled to school so walking buses and car share schemes could be set up.

"We have got everybody's postcode and house number and details of how they travel to and from school.

"Once the maps are made we can look at it, quantify it and sort out our routes," he said.

Coun Myles and representatives from the four schools are also going to visit Accrington's Peel Park Primary School in Alice Street to see how they organise their walking buses, set up last year.

"It's been a positive exercise and the proposed new measures should certainly benefit the children in terms of health and accident statistics," said Coun Myles.