Plea to drive with caution near St MacNissi's Primary School in Larne after crossing patrol removed

The plea comes as the Education Authority indicated the criteria for continuing the service at St MacNissi's Primary on Agnew Street was not met.

An EA spokesperson said: “The criteria for School Crossing Patrol (SCP) requests are outlined in the Road Safety GB's School Crossing Patrol Services Guidelines, which includes technical criteria used to assess if a SCP should be introduced or retained.

“The minimum threshold criteria are set out in these guidelines and in the case of St MacNissi’s PS the minimum threshold criteria was not met.”

School principal, Jane Baxter said the removal of the crossing patrol was "concerning", particularly due to a car accident outside the school in March.

"The Neighbourhood Policing Team were very good in coming out and having a presence, but there's no 20mph speed limit in front of the school and we have the fire station right across from us, so it can be very busy. It’s a dangerous situation," Mrs Baxter added.

"We’re lucky to have the church car park next to us, but it's not big enough in the mornings for the number of children that are coming through.

"It also impacts on the Sustrans active travel programme that we're part of, so the children are not getting the same opportunity to walk, bike or scoot to school.

"We contacted the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) and they put railings and a sign up, but they aren't able to do more as they have said there are two crossings at the top and bottom of the road, within 100 metres of the school."

Meanwhile, St MacNissi’s is continuing to reiterate the safety message among its 170 pupils. "We've done a lot of work with the children around road safety, and we've asked parents to be cautious when parking in the mornings or afternoons," Mrs Baxter said.

East Antrim MLA, Gordon Lyons, met with the school principal and DfI officials in April to discuss the matter. "I would encourage motorists, parents and pupils to exercise caution around peak times," he said. “We will continue to explore options to improve safety outside the school.”

DfI has been contacted for comment.