PARENTS have been urged to take extra care in a bid to ensure the new school year does not begin with a road tragedy.

The appeal comes as Lancashire police increase patrols around school entrances in a bid to improve road safety.

Residential estates and roads close to the county's schools regularly become clogged up with cars as pupils are dropped off and picked up each day.

But the hurried stop-offs lead to bad parking and children stepping out of cars into the path of other vehicles.

Lancashire police's accident prevention officer Inspector Peter Stas said every school day brought the danger of a serious accident.

Police patrols will offer advice to drivers in the coming weeks in a bid to cut the risks.

He said: "I would ask all parents and other drivers on the school run to consider where they park.

"Not only do cars cause congestion outside schools but they can also cause accidents.

"Parked vehicles screen pedestrians, especially children, as they try to cross the road.

"This can be made even worse in bad weather because of poor visibility and by pedestrians rushing to get out of the rain."

Inspector Stas has urged all parents in charge of small children to make sure they know how to get out of a car safely and that they are supervised when crossing the road.

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