Staff at a Bradford school are celebrating after winning a victory to get a pedestrian crossing installed outside their gates in a bid to prevent speeding motorists putting children’s lives in danger.

Bradford West Area Committee has decided to earmark £55,000 to provide a puffin crossing at St Anthony’s RC Primary School on Bradford Road, Clayton, after hearing from head teacher Madeline Bannister about the perils facing children crossing the road.

She told councillors: “I have been there since Christmas. There have been four fatalities over the years and a couple of near misses and I have had primary school children nearly knocked over and badly injured by a car.

“It is not long before we do have a death on that road and it is of paramount importance that the committee listens to to the petition and hopefully approves the project for the crossing on Bradford Road.”

Parental involvement officer at the school, Sharon Langford, said some drivers actually swerved round the lollipop lady while she was helping children cross the road.

Mrs Langford said: “This will mean that our children crossing this very busy road will cross safely. We have been campaigning for a long time because the speed of the traffic coming up and down the road is so fast.”

Lollipop lady Sharon Callaghan has described some of the incidents she has seen on Bradford Road.

“A couple of times I have had to jump back on the pavement,” she said.

“I have had to shout at some mothers to get children back on the pavement because I thought it was OK for them to cross, but it wasn’t.

“I am very relieved now, not just for me but for the children, because it is a bit of a dangerous road. In the past a lollipop lady was knocked over a couple of times and I think that a parent has been knocked down.

“There is a dip in the road and they do go along the road at speed as well as it being busy.”