LOLLIPOP CHOP

Patrols are cut by half in 10 years as councils save cash

- BY SASKIA ROWLANDS

LOLLIPOP men and women have been lopped by more than 50% in 10 years.

Councils employed 1,253 school crossing patrol officers in the last financial year compared to 2,574 in 2014.

In Nottinghamshire, every patrol has been axed, compared to 112 a decade ago.

They have been halved from 71 to 33 in Wakefield, West Yorks.

And in Hounslow, West London, five remain from 12 in 2014.

The figures we obtained under Freedom of Information laws were branded "deeply alarming" by campaigners.