School crossing plea in Sussex after pupils knocked down
A primary school headteacher has called for funding for a lollipop lady after a brother and sister were knocked down by a car.
Christ Church Primary School, in St Leonards, East Sussex, has only had one crossing attendant since 2012.
On Friday, when no lollipop lady was on duty, two pupils aged eight and 10 were knocked down, but not seriously hurt.
East Sussex County Council said it had had to make savings and could not fund all crossing patrols.
Headteacher Anne Hanney said she had met with a county council representative and stated she felt the crossing was "dangerous" and that the patrol should be reinstated.
She said: "Whilst we are enormously thankful that the accident did not result in serious injury, it is clear that a crossing patrol is necessary to avoid accidents of this nature, or potentially worse, taking place in the future."
A spokeswoman for East Sussex County Council said: "The savings we're having to make mean it is not feasible to continue to fund all crossing patrols which do not meet nationally accepted criteria, which are based on factors including the number of cars present at the location and the number of pupils crossing the road.
"We don't want to see crossing patrols taken away from schools where staff and parents want them, and we will do whatever we can to assist schools who want to continue their crossing patrol by means of securing sponsorship or recruiting volunteers, as well as supporting and managing such patrols."