@AYCLIFFETODAY
MARK MY WORDS…
With Aycliffe Neighbourhood
Police Team Sergeant MARK
EDWARDS…
CHILDREN TARGETING
CARELESS PARKERS
Pupils at a Newton Aycliffe school have been tackling
the menace of inconsiderate parkers.
The children and staff at Vane Road
Primary have been working alongside
their local beat officer, PCSO Gavin
Laycock, to tackle the persistent
problem of motorists parking too
close to the school and causing a
potentially dangerous obstruction on
the roads.
Youngsters attended a special
assembly highlighting the importance
of safe parking around the school
before taking part in a competition,
which involved the children designing
and producing posters around the
issue.
They then placed the posters on the
windscreens of cars parked too close
to the premises to raise awareness
among the parents.
And a special ‘road safety’ edition
of the school’s weekly newsletter was
also produced to reinforce the key
messages.
Vane Road Head Teacher Kieran
Pavey told Aycliffe Today: "The
problem is for only two short periods
of time, at the beginning of school
and at the end, which isn't enough
to justify long-term measures being
introduced to help solve the problem.
"But from our point of view it is a
very serious issue and we're asking
parents just to be more thoughtful
when it comes to parking.
"We appreciate everyone has busy
lives, but we're just asking for people
to park a five or 10-minute walk away
from the school on a morning and
afternoon."
Durham’s
Police
and
Crime
Commissioner Ron Hogg said:
“Parking issues near schools is a
common problem and road safety
campaigns such as this are important
to raise awareness of child safety,
especially when dropping off and
picking children up from school.
“Nobody wants a child to be injured,
or to cause an injury during the school
run. Parking as close to a school as
possible are known busy areas and
blocking footpaths or parking illegally,
however briefly, could easily cause a
serious accident either to pedestrians
or to other drivers.
“Well done to all those involved in
this campaign. Schools, councillors,
children and the police have done an
excellent job in helping to promote
road safety and keep our young people
safe.”
Inspector Mark Hall added: “It is vital
that we safeguard the children as the
travel to and from school.
"The week of action was necessary
in order to do this. I would hope people
parking around the school have been
educated by our partnership actions
and will park more appropriately in the
future.”
ABOVE PIC: Durham Crime Commissioner
Ron Hogg (centre), Vane Road School Head
Teacher Kieran P