Lollipop man told to stop giving children high fives by council
A lollipop man has been told by a council he can no longer high five children in case they are distracted while crossing the road.
Neil Cotton, 57, had been working as a school crossing patrol officer in Howden, East Yorkshire, for two years, when he shared on social media that he had been 'instructed that I can NO LONGER high five the children anymore whilst crossing the road' and 'NO LONGER guide the larger vehicles across Cross Keys Corner to eliminate the chances of legal action if there were to be an accident.'
Mr Cotton helps children from pre-school, primary and secondary schools cross the junction known as Cross Keys Corner, of which he warned drivers to 'be careful at the junction as there will be large vehicles in the middle of the road AND some larger vehicles will have no option but to mount the pavements.'
The local community shared their dismay over the decision, with Kirsty Wilcox telling BBC Look North that her son was upset that he was no longer allowed to high five the school crossing patrol officer.
'I think it's wrong. Why shouldn't he, what's wrong with it?' She added: 'It puts a smile on the kids' faces.'
Another parent, Theresa Holt, said: 'It's silly. It takes literally seconds and it gives that child that little bit of happiness. He's great with my little boy and he sees him as a friendly face.'
Drivers have also protested against the move, with Michael Dalton calling the move 'a bit OTT.'
'As a driver, we need to be a bit more courteous, certainly at school times' he added.
Driver Tony Brooke described the move as 'absurd', adding he saw no problem with Mr Cotton high fiving the children.
'He's going to hold the traffic up to let the kids across so I wouldn't have thought it would add any more time to people's journeys at all. It's crazy.'
A spokesperson from East Riding of Yorkshire Council said: 'We value all our school crossing patrols, they are pillars of the community, and do a very important job – meeting and greeting children, parents and pedestrians and helping to keep them safe while crossing the road.
'It is vitally important that children learn to cross the road safely, concentrating without any distractions, walking carefully and being vigilant of the traffic.
'In this particular case, one of our officers spoke with this crossing patrol and simply reminded them of the need not to have distractions while children are crossing.
'However, we are confident they will continue doing a fantastic job and they are much appreciated."
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