'An accident waiting to happen!' Bilston school which lost lollipop man a year ago fears for children's safety
The headteacher of a primary school which has not had a lollipop man in place for a year has warned of the dangers to pupils and parents posed by a busy road.
Hazel Richards, headteacher at Wilkinson Primary School, said pupils were being put at risk daily due to the lack of a pedestrian crossing on Wilkinson Avenue and having had no lollipop man since July 2024 when he retired.
Ms Richards said that Wolverhampton Council had not yet replaced the lollipop man, and although it had put in bollards on the road and was looking to add a zebra crossing in 2027, she said instances of near-misses in the recent past indicated the road was not safe.
She said the school wrote to the city council with concerns over the safety of the road after the previous lollipop man retired in July last year.
"We have had a few near-misses since then," she said.
"I keep on saying that the road is like an accident waiting to happen; that's our biggest concern, that one day something bad will happen.
"The council have said that they will put a zebra crossing in place by 2027.
"We have students from the age of two years old up to Year Six, and the Year Sixes walk home independently. Some of them have to walk out from behind parked cars.
"The parents also have to cross behind or in front of parked cars to get to the school, and it’s not safe."
Ms Richards said she just wanted her pupils and their parents to be safe. Parents have also been making their voices heard about the issue.
She said: "Our parents here have been really supportive; they are really behind the campaign. They have also complained to the council themselves about the safety issue.
"The lollipop man we used to have was brilliant; he was part of our community, and we really do miss him. When he was here, we never had this worry; we weren’t worried at all.
"Wilkinson Avenue is right near a park, and there are speed bumps further down the road, but not outside the road, so cars can gain some speed outside of the school sometimes.
"We don’t want to upset anyone by asking for help; we just want to keep our students safe, which is always our main priority.
"The best solution is probably a lollipop person. A zebra crossing would be great, but we would love to get a school crossing guard back."
