A lollipop man in Moray fears it is only a matter of time until he is run down trying to ensure children get to school safely.
Eddie Kerrigan has almost been knocked off his feet twice by speeding traffic since he started manning the post at the corner of Clifton Road and School Brae in Lossiemouth.
The 64-year-old only started the role in September after the previous incumbent quit because she “feared for her life”.
Locals are worried it is only a matter of time until a pupil is killed or seriously injured at the notorious turn-off.
Mr Kerrigan has kept a dossier of registration numbers of motorists failing to indicate as they turn off the A941 Elgin road to accelerate up the School Brae hill.
And now, he is calling for a stop sign or alterations to the junction to deter drivers from speeding up the slope.
He said: “It’s got to the point now where I’m second-guessing whether it’s safe to step out into the road.
“I am careful about how I go into the road, but there’s no doubt I am putting myself at risk of serious injury.
“One of the young boys I see every day has been run over twice there. You can see he’s really nervous crossing the road now, even when the cars have stopped.”
Hundreds of pupils use the crossing every morning and afternoon as they make their way to Lossiemouth High School and St Gerardine Primary School.
Mr Kerrigan has counted more than 700 vehicles flashing past the junction before the first bell and the same again at home time.
He has now enlisted the support of the town’s community council to plead for alterations to be done to the dangerous junction.
Group chairman Mike Mulholland said: “It’s been bad here for a long time. The previous woman left because she thought her life was in danger, which shows how bad it is.
“We really need to think out of the box to get people to slow down – in Portugal, they use over-sized traffic lights and it works well.
“What’s the life of a child worth? A child or a person is irreplaceable. It only takes one tragedy and then it’s done – you can’t turn the clock back. We really need to try something new here.”
Mr Kerrigan is calling for the turn-off to be made into a T-junction to encourage drivers to slow down before driving up School Brae.
Heldon and Laich councillor, John Cowe, explained that Moray Council’s roads department were already investigating whether any alterations could be made to the junction.
He said: “You see a lot of peopled putting their foot down before going up the hill. When the previous person complained, we got signs put up on the lampposts to flash up the speed the drivers were going at.
“It’s an accident waiting to happen.”
