A Sheffield infant school is fighting back against speeding cars putting children at risk of being run over.
Broomhill Infant School is now trialling a scheme of closing the road outside the school during pick up and drop off times.
Headteacher Jane Barnes said the scheme is designed to tackle high levels of pollution and traffic that are putting children at risk.
She added: “We have had incidents where parents have said they were almost run over crossing the road to come into school.
“More often than not it is cars passing through driving faster than the speed limit.”
The scheme, which is run by Sheffield City Council, has already been trialled at a number of schools across the city. The roads will be closed for one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon from Monday to Friday during term time only. A permit granting access to these streets will be granted to residents.
Ms Barnes said prohibited parking spots outside the school, which existed before the scheme was introduced, did not provide enough protection for pupils.
“I can’t tell you the amount of times I have asked cars to move from the prohibited spot outside the school.
“It means our children can’t see when they cross the road to come into school and it is still happening. It is putting our children at risk every single day,” she added.
Ms Barnes said pollution is also a concern, with parents and children coming into school wearing face masks for protection..
Claire McDonald from the charity Mums for Lungs said it is children who are most affected by air pollution.
“At the moment we know that air pollution affects children more than anyone else,” she said. “Children breathe in more deeply and frequently than grown ups, and when they take polluted air deep into their lungs it stunts their lung growth.”
Poor air quality is the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK, according to Public Health England.
It is estimated that long-term man-made air pollution in the UK has an effect equivalent to 28,000 to 36,000 deaths a year.
