Children calling for better lights

The school council at Lostock Hall Primary, near Preston, is launching a crackdown on poor lighting.

As part of a special project, they sent a petition Lancashire County Council to get the lights at a pelican crossing in Brownedge Road replaced with LEDs to make it more visible to approaching drivers.

They collected more than 300 signataries, among staff and pupils, and are hoping locals will join in the campaign.

Class teacher Nicola Metcalfe, who runs the school council, said: “The children feel that better lighting along the main road is very important for both driver and pedestrian safety.

“They are very familiar with the crossing it is dim, and think for safety reasons alone, it should be brighter.”

Pupils surveyed traffic on the main road and said they were alarmed to count 185 vehicles passing through the crossing in a 20-minute off-peak period.

They said it was much higher during the school rush.

In a statement, the children said: “Many children at our school use the crossing when walking to and from school and we have noticed the current lights are dull and not very visible for drivers, making the crossing dangerous for us and others to use.

“Therefore we want them replacing for new, brighter LED lights, in order to make the road safer for the pupils in our school and people in our community.”

Daniel Herbert, highway network manager for LCC said: “We’re aware pupils at Lostock Hall Community Primary would like us replace the current lights on the pelican crossing on Brownedge Road, Lostock Hall, with LED ones.

“We’ll look into their request further to see if this is possible to do.”