Petition over lollipop lady job cut signed by 800

A petition signed by 800 people has been delivered to Peterborough City Council after a school's long-serving lollipop lady was made redundant.

Lisa Bryan has been helping children at Eye Primary School for more than a quarter of a century, but she is one of four such workers losing their jobs across the city as the Labour-run council makes budget cuts.

She has agreed to remain in the role voluntarily for a short while, and some councillors have agreed to use part of their community funds to support her until the end of the school year.

Earlier this month, the council said the cuts were "one of a number of difficult decisions" that needed to be made to balance the budget.

Parents have been informed that a zebra crossing will be built as part of a planned 265-home development nearby, but there is no timescale for it yet, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Mum Katie Berry, who started the petition and has two young sons at Eye Primary School, said she was delighted to have garnered so much support as she handed it in at Peterborough Town Hall on Tuesday.

The petition asks that the council ensures there is "continuous safety provision" outside the school which "must be in place until the proposed zebra crossing is installed and is fully functional", in addition to the current 20mph (32km/h) speed limit.

Ms Berry said: "I'm really proud because my children have seen that actually you can do things if there is something you feel passionate about.

"You do have the power to engage with your community and do something about it. We don't just have to stand by the wayside."

She added: "What hit home for me is that everybody had their own personal story about when they saw a near miss and they thank God that there was safety provision there.

"If there is no safety provision, it's just a matter of time [before an accident happens]."

Mark Ormston, Peterborough First councillor for Eye, Thorney and Newborough, said: "It just shows the strength behind the concern in the community... [there were] 800 signatures in such a short period of time.

"The outcome I'm desperately hoping for is that provision will be put in place and kept in place until the crossing is there, at such a time that it can be safely used."

The petition will be presented at the next full council meeting on 23 July.

A separate petition, signed more than 500 times, is calling on the council to reinstate all school crossing patrols at Eye, Old Fletton, Newark Hill and Werrington, where cuts have also been made.

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