STOP AXEING OUR LOLLIPOP MEN & WOMEN

Kids' safety fears as union urge councils to halt decline of school crossing patrols

- ANDREW QUINN

A MASSIVE cut in the number of lollipop men and women is "catastrophic" for child safety, it has been claimed.

The warning came after figures obtained by the Daily Record showed the number of staff helping kids at school road crossings has fallen by 43 per cent in the last 15 years.

And now the Government has been urged to ringfence funding for lollipop staff so that they don't disappear completely amid severe cuts to council budgets.

Trade Union GMB, which represents Scotland's school crossing patrollers, says the cut in numbers "clearly increases the risk to pupils" at a time when road deaths and traffic numbers are soaring.

Organiser Sean Baillie said: "Nothing could be more important than ensuring the safety of our children, but councils have been making cuts with potentially cataST strophic consequences for years.

"Council cuts have been tearing away at the fabric of daily life in Scotland and they need to stop and reinvestment needs to start.