Lollipop man, 89, sacked after 24 years ‘as council can’t afford to insure him’
HE’S spent the past 24 years helping pupils cross the road – and at 89 years old, Alfred Tollon says it’s the job that gets him up in the morning.
But now the locally loved lollipop man has told of his sadness at being made redundant due to council cuts.
He said he even told bosses he would work for free at Harrow Lodge Primary School in Romford, London, but was told the cost to insure him was ‘prohibitive’.
On his last day on Thursday, the school made Mr Tollon the guest of honour at their Easter Parade and pupils presented him with handmade cards.
Mr Tollon was informed by letter earlier this year that his contract of employment with Havering Council had been terminated and given 12 weeks’ notice. The council said it was facing unprecedented financial challenges and that fewer than 15 per cent of schools in the borough now had crossing patrol officers as it had installed extra crossings instead.
But some parents said they were worried about safety. Paula Leahy said Mr Tollon ‘keeps everything flowing very smoothly. I am genuinely really concerned because it’s a crossroad junction, it’s inevitable an accident will happen’. Mr Tollon, who lives alone after the death of his wife, said he planned to retire when he turned 90, but was heartbroken at having to give up his job earlier than expected.
He added he would miss the children, many of whom he had seen grow up. ‘I would do it for nothing,’ he said. ‘It gets me up in the morning. I feel fit, whereas if I wasn’t doing anything I’d just fall apart.’
His granddaughter Bethany, 26, said: ‘It’s going to mentally impact him because he’s stuck at home.’ She added he was determined to find something else to do to stay active and was considering charity work.
‘He doesn’t want to sit there and be elderly. He’s out more than I am.’