A SCHOOL could have to waste 'precious' funds on kerb repairs and bollards if parents keep ignoring pleas about bad parking.

Watlington Primary School has become the latest to write to parents about 'dangerous' parking and driving during pick-up and drop-off, and has enlisted help from neighbourhood police officers in a bid to get drivers to behave.

The village school, in rural South Oxfordshire, is considering installing bollards or barriers to stop people straddling the grass verges and pavements outside.

It might have to delve into its 'creaking' budget to repair roadside tyre damage.

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In a newsletter circulated last Friday, school staff wrote: "The school has received several complaints of dangerous and aggressive driving on the school site and on the roads around Love Lane.

"At a time when school budgets are creaking under the pressure of poor government funding, it saddens us greatly that we are even considering directing some of those precious funds to repairing [kerbs]and grass banks, and that we might have to bear the cost of installing bollards, gates and barriers."

They advised parents that all reports of dangerous driving have been passed on to Thames Valley Police.

The notice asked drivers to 'be patient', not to park on the grass, to turn of their engine while waiting and - ultimately - to leave cars at home and walk to school instead.

Oxford Mail:

An earlier Google Street View capture from Love Lane in Watlington dated 2008, showing the issue has been ongoing for at least a decade

The letter stated: "[These] messages are common sense, but sadly once again, we are having to be explicit."

Love Lane is home to the 300-pupil primary school as well as neighbouring Icknield Community College, a secondary school with almost 700 pupils on roll.

Images captured on Google Street View show cars including a Land Rover parked completely on the grass verge next to the zigzag lines.

A little further along, two cars with no drivers inside can be seen parked on either side of a bend in the road.

The village is by no means the first to shame people for poor parking on the school run, nor to involve police.

At the start of the academic year, Sandhills Community Primary School in Oxford, St Swithuns CE Primary School in Kennington, West Kidlington Primary School and New Marston Primary School in Oxford, to name a few, all sent strong-worded letters to parents about the problem.

Last month Sunningwell Primary School near Abingdon also warned parents of potential contact with police, after reports of children not wearing their seat belts on the school run.

ALSO READ: Angry neighbour 'punctures tyre' after leaving parking note

The week before last, West Witney Primary School's headteacher also advised against 'extremely dangerous' positioning of cars.

Nancy Darby wrote: "I'm sorry we have to say this yet again but we still have parents pulling into the school car park to drop off or collect children from school and after school clubs.

"We have kindly asked, on many occasions, for you not to do this."

Just yesterday, New Hinksey CE Primary School in Oxford also raised concerns about road safety at the school gate, urging parents not to drive cars right to the gates or to use the lane to turn around in.

Who is supposed to enforce parking rules anyway?

Guidance on Thames Valley Police's website states that local authorities are responsible for issuing fines for breaches of the Highway Code.

However, there are three exceptions when the police should get involved as a crime has been committed - if someone has parked on zig-zag lines, parked dangerously or parked in a way that blocks access for emergency vehicles.