A Seaton grandfather, concerned about road safety near a Workington school, is appealing for a team of volunteers to help children cross the road.

Barrie Shutt, 71, of Coronation Avenue, has decided to take action after a 10-year-old girl was hit by a car outside Victoria Junior School, on Victoria Road, earlier this month.

Barrie, whose grandson Alfie, eight, attends Victoria Junior School and granddaughter Emily, five, attends Victoria Infant School, said: "There's lots of children walking across that road and it's a dangerous area for children full stop.

"I suggest we find a team of volunteers, have a meeting with the schools and offer our services for free. We could set up a rota and take it in turns to help the children cross, we could write down a little protocol with rules and educate our children about the dangers of the road, what those black and white lines on the street are and how to use them.

"Something needs to be done before something happens."

The school has welcomed Mr Shutt's offer.

Pauline Robertson, executive headteacher, said: "We're engaging with Highways and the local authority because we have realised that the road is lacking signs. 

"There's three or four roads that head into the school's road and there's only one sign to say there's a school there. There's also only one little fence to direct the children into the crossing.

One of our governors, Robert Wood, is taking the lead on this with a working party. We want to improve road signs and the quality of the road. Between our two schools, there's more than 500 pupils, but children who walk to St Michael's, St Joseph's and Workington Academy also use that road."

Mrs Robertson added that the school has loaned high-visibility jackets to the children to walk to and from school and is working with children on road safety.

Parents have been sent letters to ask for suggestions on how to improve the safety of the children and Mrs Robertson said she was grateful for the feedback received so far.

A spokesman for the county council said: "The school had a crossing patrol officer up until late 2007 but unfortunately, when the post became vacant, we were unable to recruit a replacement despite attempts to do so. 

"We would be happy to meet representatives from the school and parents to discuss any road safety concerns that they may wish to raise. The collision on Harrington Road is being investigated by the police and we are therefore unable to comment on the circumstances at this time."

Anyone interested in joining the team of volunteer crossing patrol can email Mr Shutt at barrieshutt@aol.com