Cherished lollipop men and women vanish from Croydon after council wields the axe

Lolipop ladies and men have been a cherished British institution for generations.

Greeting parents and children with a smile and a wave on their way to school, they play an important part in keeping you safe on the roads.

But more and more are being told their services are no longer required, meaning the role is dying out.

Croydon council in south London is under fire from parents for deciding to axe its six remaining lollipop men and women.

Furious parents described the decision as ‘penny-pinching,’ while the cash-strapped council insists the savings are needed and the service is not mandatory.

All the remaining patrols will stop by the end of the year to save £54,000, Metro understands.

Parents and children at Cypress Primary School formed a protective circle around their lollipop man of 23 years, Robert, with signs saying “We love you, Robert” after the decision last week.

Thasini Kumaran, whose three children go to Monks Orchard School in Croydon, told Metro: ‘Our lollipop lady is finishing this term.

‘She was my lollipop lady, she was my brother’s lollipop lady and now she’s my kids’ lollipop lady.

‘It is heartbreaking to see her go.

‘And also that road, although it is a 20mph road, the cars are really fast and it is really not safe for the kids to not have a lollipop lady.’

Share your views and your memories of lollipop patrols by emailing noora.mykkanen@metro.co.uk

She became the school’s lollipop lady because Thasini’s brother was nearly hit by a car when he ran onto the road.

Thasini added: ‘My dad petitioned to get a lollipop lady. That is how she came about. She has been with us our whole lives and she knows all of our stories. And she is so passionate about the safety of the children, which is really hard to find nowadays. She really cares about the kids.’

Rowenna Davis, a councillor and Labour mayor candidate for Croydon, told Metro the council decision is ‘really devastating.’

Rowenna, whose two children go to a school that has already lost its patrol, said the saving will be ‘such a tiny amount of money.’

‘It does nothing to solve our debt problems at the council’, she said. ‘It is just decimating services that are very difficult to bring back.

‘I think it is penny-pinching. You are just burning everything that makes Croydon a community for the sake of a few pounds.’

Croydon council is facing a £98million budget black hole which saw four government commissioners take over its financial management and decisions.

Rowenna said: ‘These patrol officers, and I’ve met five of them, and all of them have done at least 20 years of service, so between them they have done over a 100 years for our borough.

‘They are from a time when there was more community and we looked after each other more.’

Parents warned that the council’s decision will hamper children’s safety – and independence – because parents will be less reluctant to let their children walk to school without an adult.

Thasini said: ‘They are going to have so many accidents, fatal accidents as well, and they are going to have to answer to why they took this away. They are saying it is too expensive, but our lollipop lady was hardly paid anything.

‘I really don’t understand what Croydon council is doing.’

A Croydon council spokesperson told Metro: ‘The safety of all our residents on our roads remains a priority for the Council. The decision to close our six remaining non-statutory School Crossing Patrols was taken in 2022, following a service review.

‘The savings were first agreed as part of the 2022/23 budget, before being finalised by Full Council at their budget meeting in March 2023. Most patrols had already been phased out many years ago.

‘Croydon’s Healthy School Streets programme has improved safety for around 40 schools in the borough, including at Cypress Primary School.

‘Our Road Safety Team continues to work with schools on road safety initiatives, such as Junior Roadwatch and Healthy School Streets, by reducing the number of vehicles during drop off and pick up times.’

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