Concerned parents of pupils at two borough schools are calling for safer pedestrian crossings for their children.

Safety on roads surrounding Grove Primary School, Chadwell Heath Lane, Chadwell Heath and Farnham Green Primary School, Royal Close, Seven Kings have come under scrutiny as of late, attracting support from local councillors.

A proposal for a school crossing patrol, more often referred to as a lollipop man, outside Grove Primary School was voted against at a full council meeting earlier this month.

It was included in a raft of budget proposals put forward by the Labour group.

The Grove Primary campaign is spearheaded by Amanda Turi, who managed to get hundreds of parents to sign a petition calling for the crossing patrol to be reintroduced after it was deemed unnecessary.

Chadwell ward Cllr Wes Streeting said: “Parents have real concerns about the safety of children crossing the road outside Grove Primary and so do their local Labour councillors.”

Parent protester Hasseljee Russul-Saib is calling for a “simple survey” along Percy Road and Douglas Road, outside Farnham Green, before 9am as children travel to school.

The father of three added: “If anything should happen to my kids down these roads, I’ll blame the council.

“It’s not a big thing I’m asking for, I just want help to protect the kids.”

Despite pleas from parents and pressure from fellow councillors, a council spokesman stated that new guidelines suggest additional crossing control “could actually cause confusion to drivers and as a result increase the risk”.

She added: “Grove Primary has been in a 20mph zone since January 2007 and a pelican crossing is installed.

“A crossing patrol officer had been in post outside Grove Primary School from 2007 but resigned last September.

“During that time new guidelines were introduced nationally to clarify the position regarding school crossing patrols where puffin and pelican crossings are installed.

“Regarding the request for safer crossing outside Farnham Green school, pedestrian and vehicle counts were carried out and results indicated a pedestrian crossing could not be supported.”