Parents parking irresponsibly outside a school today were greeted by a pack of pint-sized patrol officers.
After seeing a spate of dangerous parking nearby, the school council of Hillside Primary in Bradwell took it upon themselves to try and improve the situation.
Armed with tickets and sound advice, a five-strong team of pupils patrolled the street outside the school on Lords Lane this morning, politely notifying poor parking parents.
The idea was first discussed at the school council with headteacher Simon Minter, who helped children carry out the patrol.
He said: 'We've had a lot of complaints from parents, staff, pupils and residents about the way people were parking outside of the school, and this was something our council wanted to do something about.
'Something we as a school feel strongly about is giving our older children - the year fives and sixes - independence, so with written permission from their parents, they can walk to school on their own. This, of course, involves crossing roads, and if poorly parked cars are blocking their views of oncoming traffic, this can be extremely dangerous.
'We've had a few near misses in the past, so this was the council's way of trying to make people think before they park.'
Around a dozen tickets were handed out by the pupils - who ranged between nine and 11-years-old - as they eagerly awaited infringements.
Mr Minter added: 'In the past we've seen cars parked on the zig-zags outside of the school, blocking the entrance and even on the bus stop.
'We had tried putting up banners, notices, sent texts and emails, but these haven't had an impact. The parents today reacted really positively, so we're hoping this initiative will.'
Year six pupil Tobie, 10, chair of the council, said: 'We all came up with the idea together and I think parents might listen more to us children than they would adults.
'We just want to make everybody safe, as when people don't park properly there is a bigger risk that somebody could get hurt.'
Trevor Wainwright, chairman of the governors, also joined in the patrol. He said: 'We have a very pro-active school council who want really want to make a difference, and I thought this was a great initiative.'
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