FAMILIES RALLY AGAINST CUTS TO LOLLIPOP CROSSINGS

Safety concerns raised as councils cut back on school crossing patrols

- JOHN EVANS

Families across the UK are campaigning to stem the decline in school crossing patrol officers, otherwise known as lollipop men and women, in the face of council cutbacks.

They argue the roles are still needed, given that new police data released in June reported that 413 pedestrians were killed in 2024, an increase of 2% compared with 2023, amounting to a quarter of all road-related deaths. People aged 16 years and under accounted for 4% of these deaths and 10% of those injured.

The figures have been released against a background of reductions in school crossing patrols, the numbers of which have halved in the past 10 years but which their supporters insist make roads safer for children.

Croydon Council is one of the latest to scrap its lollipop patrollers, with schools losing them at the end of the current term.