A HEADTEACHER is desperately trying to keep her pupils safe as a small group of drivers are parking selfishly.

Headteacher at Kendall Primary School in Colchester, Clare French, called upon councillors to visit the school and see the parking pandemonium.

The school is built at the bottom of a slope in Recreation Road, but there is no path for pedestrians with wheelchairs or pushchairs to use and they are left to walk in the road down to the school gates.

Some parents are using the slope down to the school gates as a turning circle, and Mrs French said it is endangering pupils.

She said: "It's a very difficult situation here, there are steps for pedestrians but parents with pushchairs have to walk out into the road.

"The issue is some parents park in front of the gates, someone took down the sign we put up to stop people parking there.

"I don't know any other school which has to get parents to walk through oncoming traffic."

The road is owned privately, so Essex County Council can not enforce double yellow lines.

Mrs French said the manager of the residential home which owns the road had been really supportive, but it was not his place to pay to fix the parking problem.

She said: "There's a small group of parents who are really keen to help and we are putting banners up. What we really need is a path to lead to the school gates but the quotes were coming in at about £80,000 and we just can't afford it."

The school started issuing permits to parents so they could park in the nearby Recreation Ground, but Mrs French said it had been unsuccessful.

Kim Barnetson, who is a childminder for some children at the school, said: "The situation is getting worse. I consider it to be a major safeguarding issue.

"I can't think of any other circumstance where I would be expected to manoeuvre a double buggy and children walking through cars in this way.

"I feel strongly about this and I can't just stand by and wait for an accident to happen."

Ward Councillor Lee Scordis visited the school recently.

He said: "I've never seen anything like it, cars driving down a very narrow private access road, driving up the kerb, at each other, driving at speed with children crossing the road.

"Please put the safety of children first and do not drive down this narrow access road."

Anyone who can suggest a solution is welcome to contact the Gazette or the school.