Parents at Aerodrome School will be staging a protest this afternoon in support of their lollipop lady, Maureen Seymour, who faces losing her job ensuring the safety of hundreds of children, as Croydon Council looks to make savings of £60,000 a year so that the Conservative-run council can spend £3 million on furnishing in its new headquarters offices.

The parents are seeking additional support from residents and friends, and they are also running a petition to save Seymour’s job as they lobby outside the school on Goodwin Road in Waddon from around 3.15pm today.

Parents are very worried that their children’s journeys to school will be much more dangerous without the helpful supervision of an adult school crossing patrol, especially since there are so many cars parked along the road approaching the school now that drivers often do not see children as they try to cross the road.

“Croydon Council’s proposal to stop funding of school crossing patrols inevitably increases the risk of the number of children injured or killed on their way to and from school in Croydon,” said Jemma Goucher, an Aerodrome parent.

“Our own lollipop lady has saved the lives of many young children on our crossing and as parents we fear for the safety of our children.”

Lucille Driscoll, now a parent, remembers when she attended the local primary school as a pupil. “When I was a kid at this school, my mum was one of the campaigners to get the crossing installed. Traffic has only got worse since, and the cars go too fast.

“Maureen has been doing the job for about two years, since Waddon Infants school was brought to this site and merged with Duppas Junior.

“It’s not just a job to her, she really cares about the safety of the kids.”

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