PARENTS across Trafford have scored a victory in their campaign to save school crossing patrols, after council bosses performed a u-turn over its public consultation.

The Messenger can reveal that despite closing the public consultation on scrapping up to one third of school crossing patrols across the borough in mid-December, Trafford Council has now decided to reopen it and to consult affected parents further.

The news comes as a lollipop man returned to work on Monday afternoon, just hours after he was hit by a van on Washway Road at one of the site's currently deemed low risk by the local authority.

The incident happened close to Tyntesfield Primary School, where more than 700 people have signed a petition raising fears for the safety of children on the busy four lane highway if the crossing patrol is removed.

Responding to the reopening of the consultation, Helen Jones, the authority's corporate director for economic growth, environment and infrastructure said permission for the 'follow up consultation' would be sought from the executive next week.

Ms Jones said: "Our approach to this consultation was to distribute the consultation materials through the affected schools. However, in order to ensure that the consultation is as fair and robust as possible we are proposing that we should now consult directly with users where we are potentially removing an existing school crossing patrol, unless it has been un-manned for a long period of time."

Meanwhile, former lorry driver John Naggs, 58, was unfazed by his latest dice with death on Washway Road.

Mr Naggs, a grandfather of two, took over the job on the crossing nine years ago, after a recovering from a kidney transplant.

Mr Naggs said: "This is a dangerous crossing and being hit by vehicles is par for the course. It's the fourth time I have been struck and on this occasion the wing mirror of a VW van caught me on the arm and spun me round, as I was seeing the children across the road.

"The driver didn't stop but I wasn't injured. It was only because a parent reported it to the school that I even bothered reporting it to police. Drivers are so impatient."

He added: "If the council decides to scrap this patrol, I would hate to think that my absence would lead to a child being killed."

Tyntesfield Primary head teacher Kylie Spark said: "I have written a letter to the local authority voicing my thoughts against losing this crossing patrol and the school has been very much behind the parents.

One of the parents Amy Whyte said: "It a complete mystery to parents why this crossing is considered a low risk by the council because if he had a lucky escape so did the children he was guiding across the road."

"We believe if they take away the crossing patrol for the sake of saving a few pounds it will put at risk the lives of many of our children."

Trafford Labour leader Cllr Andrew Western said: 'This incident just goes to show what a dangerous junction the children at Tyntesfield have to navigate.

"The A56 is a horrendously busy road and I can not believe that any crossing along it would be deemed low risk. Thankfully nobody was more seriously hurt, and I can only hope that the Conservative Group take heed of what has happened here and reconsider their proposal to axe dozens of school crossing patrols across Trafford."

A Trafford Council spokeswoman said: "Fortunately, the attendant was unhurt but understandably shaken. An initial internal investigation into the matter has taken place and it appears that this is an isolated incident rather than a road safety issue, however, the matter has now been referred to the police for further investigation."

Leader of Trafford Council, Cllr Sean Anstee added: “ Trafford Council has always taken a pragmatic approach to budget planning and whilst there is no getting away from the savings we have to make in this area, we will still deliver an acceptable and safe service that meets legislation and national guidelines.

"The Council has always left enough room in its decision making timeline to allow for sufficient consultation and during the evaluation phase, it was identified that although schools had received information and provided feedback, users of the crossings themselves had not necessarily fed back on the proposals. Therefore to ensure a robust outcome to the consultation, further engagement will take place with this group.”

The latest public consultation will take place at the under threat crossings from Monday (Jan19) and is due for completion by Feb 5.

Kate Green, Stretford and Urmston MP, said: "School crossing patrols service busy roads. Parents and teachers have been warning for weeks that the Council's proposals are unsafe  - parents of children at schools across my constituency have contacted me worried about their children’s journey to school. 

"While I’m pleased the Tory Council is finally reconsidering, it’s disgraceful that it's taken another accident for the Council to take action. 

"I hope parents will respond to the Council's consultation, and also complete my online survey about road safety in Trafford."

To complete the survey, click on this link.