What kind of country is this, where a lollipop man can't high-five the kids?
When my three children attended the local state primary school, we had a wonderful lollipop lady called Moreen who would safely escort them across the busiest road in the village. The children adored her and would often buy her chocolate bars from the village newsagents.
Moreen was a bit of a local legend. As well as helping with the children, she volunteered at the village football club, called the bingo numbers at the village hall, worked in the local village café – and even manned the village post office at one point.
When she passed away quite suddenly several years ago, the village was bereft – we'd lost one of those community-spirited people who willingly sacrificed their time for the benefit of others.
You would have thought any local authority – propped up by ever increasing amounts of taxpayers' cash – would cherish these sorts of stalwarts. But no.
This week we learnt that a lollipop man in East Yorkshire has been told he can no longer high-five children while they are crossing the road because it slows down traffic.
Neil Cotton, 57, has spent the past two years working as a school crossing patrol officer in Howden, where he has formed a close bond with the children from the infant, junior and secondary schools as they crossed the junction known locally as Cross Keys Corner.
But in a social media post he announced that he would not be able to high-five the children anymore, because 'it upsets some drivers having to wait another 10 seconds'.
Clearly some idiotic and impatient drivers had complained – and rather than telling them to slow down, and take more care driving around at school drop-off and pick-up – the council has sided against Mr Cotton.
A council fun sponge, sorry, spokesman said it was 'vitally important children learn to cross the road safely, without any distractions'.
How utterly ridiculous.
It takes seconds to give a child a high-five and put a smile on their face. No doubt some jobsworth at the council has decreed it poses a health and safety problem – even though pandering to road rage-prone commuters poses an even greater risk.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Inside Richard Hughes' first year at Liverpool: Anfield chief arrived with daunting to-do list... but here's how club's 'stubborn' mastermind wooed Slot, kept hold of Salah and Van Dijk and squeezed £10m out of Real Madrid for Alexander-Arnold
There was a knock at the door and Arne Slot opened it. The man standing behind it was a suited-and-booted Glasweigan chap and he walked in, chunky ring-binder under arm ready for his host to stick the kettle on or pour a bottle of red, looking like a teacher about to give a lesson.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Stroud woman aims to fix 'appalling' litter problem
A woman aiming to fix what she describes as an "appalling" litter problem, is leading a team of volunteers on a 22 mile (35km) overnight walk to collect Thomas, Stroud District Council's Member Champion for Litter and Clean Environment, has organised many long-distance personal challenges where she will litter pick along the Thomas is also running a campaign which aims to provide primary school children with litter pickers which they can use to keep the area around their school clean."It's about raising awareness and trying to do something to make a difference," she said. Ms Thomas says she came up with the idea after running the Stroud Half Marathon in the run, she picked up 22 bags of rubbish along the 13.1 mile (21km) far, 45 schools in the Stroud District area have signed up for the Litter Pickers for Little Pickers campaign and more than 1,400 grabbers have been handed Thomas, who this month has been given an award for her community efforts, is additionally raising money to buy books about the importance of protecting the environment for the said the response has been "incredible" and shows the "strong desire" for action in the community, which she said will benefit more than 7,000 children in the area. Ms Thomas said: "Some people have the attitude that it's okay to drop rubbish in the streets, as someone else - usually the council - will clear up after them."But the council can't be out every day as well as doing weekly bin collections; so it's the responsibility of all of us to help keep our streets tidy."If we all do a little bit when we're out and about, and make it a team effort, it will benefit everyone."
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Thousands of plush toys sold in UK are urgently recalled & ‘rejected at border' over ‘serious' health risk
THOUSANDS of plush toys across the UK have been urgently recalled after they were flagged over a serious health risk. Locisne has pulled its Hamster Plush Toy from store shelves - with conerns it could present a serious risk to life. The item has been removed from online marketplaces including from Amazon. "This product presents a serious risk of choking as the eyes of the hamster can detach and fit wholly in a small parts cylinder," a government report said. "If a child under 3 were to use and mouth the toy, the small parts may become detached and cause the child to choke. "The product does not meet the requirements of the Toys [Safety] Regulations 2011." Other recent product recalls While the laws around toys are stringent, products still make it to market that present a danger to children. The Nail Art Studio kit, by the brand Girls Creator, is a nail art set that includes nail varnish, a battery-operated nail dryer and a range of nail accessories. However, a warning was issued after a product safety report found a risk of suffocation for children. Another recent example was the Joycat Baby Float, sold on Amazon. The blue and yellow sea-themed swim seat, intended for babies and toddlers, was blocked from entering the country at the border. The float was branded a safety risk after authorities found that its attachable canopy could lift the float from the water in windy conditions, putting children in danger. Ford Recalls Over 1 Million Vehicles: Rearview Camera Glitch Explained The report also raised concerns that the float's colours do not provide enough contrast with the water, making it harder to spot in an emergency. What are my product recall rights? Product recalls are an important means of protecting consumers from dangerous goods. As a general rule, if a recall involves a branded product, the manufacturer would usually have lead responsibility for the recall action. But it's often left up to supermarkets to notify customers when products could put them at risk. If you are concerned about the safety of a product you own, always check the manufacturer's website to see if a safety notice has been issued. When it comes to appliances, rather than just food items, the onus is usually on you - the customer - to register the appliance with the manufacturer as if you don't there is no way of contacting you to tell you about a fault. If you become aware that an item you own has been recalled or has any safety noticed issued against it, make sure you follow the instructions given to you by the manufacturer. They should usually provide you with more information and a contact number on its safety notice. In some cases, the manufacturer might ask you to return the item for a full refund or arrange for the faulty product to be collected.
