Following an incident outside St Mary's Primary School in Tunstall both the school and the local councillor have joined forces in campaigning for safety measures to be installed outside the school.

On Friday 17 November a child aged seven was hit by a car outside the Tunstall school.

The pupil was treated at the scene before being taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital for further treatment. The school has campaigned for a number of years to lobby highways to install safety measures but have had no success.

One of the main issues is the crossing between the school on Watergate Street and the car park. This means that parents and children who have parked in the car park to avoid hazardous parking on the street are forced to cross the busy road.

The school also has a problem with HGVs using the road from the nearby industrial site which are forced to use the streets due to limited access to the site. This adds pressure to the already busy road during peak school hours between 8.30–9am and 3–3.30pm.

The school has campaigned for years for safety measures but have had no success (Google).

This is not the first school to demand action on road safety as in November, Ormiston Meridian Academy called for a 'comprehensive and immediate' road safety review. This was in response to a pupil being struck by a car.

There is an additional problem as some parents choose not to use the car park and park their cars on the road, sometimes on double yellow lines and in no stopping zones which increases the risks of accidents happening. This is in spite of signs placed around the school alerting motorists to the restrictions.

Uncle Colin West who was using the car park said: "I've known this car park to be half empty and parents parking all over the place. It is dangerous and I could understand it if there wasn't a car park but all you have to do is cross the road."

Staffordshire Police have been out to discourage parents parking irresponsibility and to present a presence to discourage speeding in the wake of the tragic incident. However, it is not the responsibility of Staffordshire Police to manage vehicles parking in restricted areas like double yellow lines, that is the responsibility of Stoke-on-Trent City Council.  

Local ward councillor Tabrase Din wants a crossing to be placed which would connect the school to the car park. He said: "Currently the road is dangerous. Thankfully nobody was seriously injured a few weeks ago, however that is not to say that a major incident couldn't happen.

"Recently I've met with both the school and other partners to attempt to find a solution to the ongoing problems with parking at St Mary's. This includes potentially installing a crossing to connect with the car park which would make it safer when attempting to cross the road.

"There are a lot of near misses on that stretch of road and any measure that can help to protect and ensure the safety of children at the school would be a positive. Hopefully a solution will be implemented quickly by council officials to prevent another injury."

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