CHILDREN could be hurt after a surge in drivers parking by a county primary school.

That is the fear of Ledbury councillor Annette Crowe and headteacher Julie Rees after an increase in drivers parking near the town's primary school since the loss of nearby free car park and increased parking charges.

They are calling for motorists to think twice before parking on Long Acres or Orchard Lane or using the route as a rat-run.

Coun Crowe said: “A local resident approached me last week to say that, all day, cars are parking all along Long Acres, on the approach to the primary school, and also on Orchard Lane.”

She said the view of children crossing is obscured, and motorists cannot see who is stepping out, because of parked cars and both roads are the two main approaches to the primary school.

Coun Crowe said: “Some older children walk themselves home, and unless they use the crossing outside the school, it’s really dangerous.

“I do think a child could be hurt because of this, and something needs to be done.”

She pointed to the recent loss of the town’s one free car park and increased car parking charges as a reason for the bumper to bumper parking all down Long Acres and she said most people parking there were not parents but people working in Ledbury.

Coun Crowe said: “People are parking in places where they should not park, because of increased costs.”

She suggested creating safe parking bays in Long Acres and more safer crossing points for children.

Mrs Rees said she had been approached by concerned local residents and said: “Long Acres is being used as a rat-run by lorries and cars avoiding the town centre, and with the parking situation, they often have to get up on the pavement to get past on-coming vehicles, and a child could get hurt.”

The school is promoting a “Choose How You Move” initiative, to make people think about how and why they travel, and the school will also have a Walk to School day at the end of May.

Year three children are getting pedestrian training, to make them more aware of traffic dangers, and the primary already operates a drop-off system on its car park, where staff meet children as they step out from their parents’ cars, “to keep the car-parking fluid”.