Lollipop men and women are still desperately needed to staff crossing patrols at 29 schools.

At the beginning of the month, Oxfordshire County Council launched an appeal for new staff to man the crossings. They suffered a shortfall following a reduction in pay, which occurred when hours were cut back from 90 to 60 minutes a day.

Following the appeal, they gained one new employee - but lost another three, so the number of recruits they need has risen from 27 to 29. School crossing patrol manager John Crossley said: "Unfortunately, the first appeal didn't get much of a response, so we would like to issue it again. The problem with the job is that people have to give up half an hour in the morning and half an hour at the end of the day for £4.60 an hour.

"If you are working, then you obviously can't commit yourself to working at a crossing control. The job suits parents who are not working or pensioners between the ages of 65 and 70.

"We are now in the unfortunate position whereby parents have to be on hand to make sure their children get across the road safely because there is a shortage of crossing patrols." The county has 122 school crossing sites, mainly outside primary schools, selected on the basis of the number of pupils and volume of traffic.

Lollipopmen and women over 65 are given medical checks every 12 months to make sure they can do the job. Anyone who is interested should call the council on 01865 815071.

Story date: Wednesday 14 April

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.