The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Mum’ s school patroller plea after son hit by car
An anxious Kinloss mother is calling for school crossing patrollers to be reintroduced in Moray urgently after her son was hit by a car.
Nine-year-old John Black had to be pulled back from the road after being clipped by a car while he was on the tight pavement outside the village’s primary school gates.
The P5 pupil escaped with only a sprain from the ordeal but has been kept off school this week as he recovers.
Moray Council axed school crossing patrollers in summer 2019 as part of controversial budget cuts to save £120,000.
The local authority says it will be reviewing the incident involving John, which happened on
Monday, but his mother Becky believes restoring the lollipop staff is now critical.
The road outside Kinloss Primary School is regularly busy with haulage traffic travelling to a nearby distillery and other locations.
Mrs Black said: “John was just walking home from school on the pavement and he was either accidentally pushed or he tripped.
“A car was coming the other way and hit his leg. It’s lucky my friend managed to pull him out of the way or it could have been a lot worse.
“The safety is just terrible, there’s basically none. It’s a big concern for all the parents in Southside Kinloss.
“The best outcome would be getting the crossing patroller back, or maybe a railing.
“The pavement is very tight when all the children are leaving.”
Other parents of Kinloss Primary School pupils have reported their own children being involved in near misses outside the gates.
More than 200 youngsters attend the school, which is popular with forces families connected to the neighbouring Army base.
When school crossing patrollers were axed, concerned parents in communities across Moray feared the move would put the safety of children in jeopardy.
Moray MP Douglas Ross has described the concerns as a “very real issue” and has written to the council to establish a safe crossing. He said: “Many parents are rightly concerned as the B9089 Kinloss-Roseisle Road is particularly busy with all sorts of traffic.
“I have contacted Moray Council again to ask for an update on the speed checks they were to carry out at this location and to ask what plans they have to install other safety measures including the consideration of a pedestrian crossing.
“I’ve also asked them where parents would stand legally if they provided volunteer crossing patrollers, equipped with suitable reflective clothing.”
Moray Council has said it is currently reviewing the results of safety assessments carried out outside the school.
A council spokeswoman said: “Our thoughts are with the family involved in this incident and we wish the child all the best for a speedy recovery.
“We appreciate the distressing nature of the incident and are supporting staff and children from Kinloss Primary School who may have witnessed events unfolding.
“Transportation colleagues have been conducting assessments in Kinloss recently, the findings from this will be reviewed and shared upon completion.
“All the details surrounding this incident will be reviewed and we will continue to work alongside Police Scotland to identify opportunities to encourage safe crossing and vehicle use around school areas.”