FOR an hour in the morning and again in the afternoon there are few places more potentially hazardous to pedestrians and motorists than the few hundred yards either side of a school entrance.

Between 8 and 9am, parents pulling up in cars, children crossing roads and the extra traffic caused by people heading for work add up to a dangerous cocktail right across East Lancashire.

Local residents and the staff of a number of schools have got together to lobby councils and press for strict parking restrictions to be imposed close to playgrounds - and vigorously policed.

But the approaches to some schools, especially at primary level, are in residential areas where neighbours are unhappy about yellow lines which might make life more difficult for them.

The answer surely is that parents should call for single yellow lines to be put outside all schools banning parking during the peak times - when pupils are coming in or going home.

It's not rocket science and the surprising thing is that petitions like the one backed by Hyndburn MP Greg Pope for West End Primary School, Oswaldtwistle, are still needed.

Such restrictions should already be in place outside all schools and closely observed by all parents to minimise risk.