Students buy lollipop lady Carol a body cam for protection

Pupils from the ET Martial Arts helped raise cash for a bodycam for the lollipop lady on Barnsley Road, Moorthorpe so they can catch people not stopping. Pictured are Carol Sykes (lollipop lady), Eamon Timmins, Mick Yound and David Picken from ET martial arts and a school pupil

Barnsley Road in Minsthorpe is used by hundreds of children every day, but there is currently no pelican or zebra crossing nearby.

Instead, lollipop lady Carol Sykes is forced to stop traffic herself to let youngsters across, but she is fearing for her safety after a number of near misses with motorists.

Now students from the nearby ET Martial Arts Club have helped pool their cash to buy her the state-of-the art camera, which will help capture any of the mindless culprits.

Eamon Timmins from the martial arts school said: “She has nearly been run over a few times and she was upset about how bad it was so we decided to buy her the camera.

“Rather than trying to write down a number plate every time she nearly gets knocked down, she can now just pass the footage to the police.

“It’s a terrible road and it’s worse when you see the kids crossing it. There’s a bad bend and it gets really busy.

“Hopefully now anyone speeding will think twice.

“Carol could not thank us enough for the camera, I don’t think she’s taken it off!”

Children who use the road largely attend Moorthorpe Primary Junior and Infants and St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School.

Neil Rodgers, service director for planning, transport and highways, said: “The council is concerned about the reports of near misses and officers will be visiting the area to speak with the lollipop lady about her concerns and assess the location.

“We do risk assessments each year but this area was not found to be a hazardous location in previous checks.

“School crossing patrol officers provide a valuable service in keeping children safe and we want those officers to be safe as well.”