A “phenomenal” lollipop lady has been warned she could face the chop as Hampshire County Council eyes up cutting its road crossing services to fill its black hole.
Sharon Woodford, who has worked as a lollipop lady in Holbury for 32 years, built up a reputation among locals for her work.
She and 20 other crossing guards could now lose their jobs as Hampshire hopes to rake in £1million amid a deficit totalling £132million.
The situation, which remains undecided, could bring all 163 crossing patrols to an end.
Sharon Woodford is a lollipop lady in Hampshire
GB NEWS
Woodford told GB News: “It would be a shame to see it go but what do you do?”
Parents in Holbury were also keen to stress Woodford’s work.
A mother said: “She’s phenomenal. She knows every single child by their name. It doesn’t matter how old they are. She’s been amazing.”
She added: “I think it’s stupid because this road can be very fast. Loads of the kids come flying across and she’s there. She’s the safety hub of the road.”
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Sharon Woodford, who has worked as a lollipop lady in Holbury for 32 years, built up a repuation among locals for her work.GB NEWSA father also told GB News: “I think it’s ridiculous. She’s here everyday, twice a day, getting us across this road safely.
“It’s a main road that’s going through this area. A lot of the kids go to that school and they walk on their own from that direction.
“All the money flying around in the world at the moment, the least they can do is afford to fund this wonderful person and get them across the road.”
A petition is also going around Holbury to put pressure on Hampshire County Council to save Woodford’s job.
Parents have spoken in support for the local lollipop lady
GB NEWS
Hampshire County Council, which is also looking at cutting back across 12 other services, said in a statement: “Whilst we have a legal duty to promote road safety and take measures to prevent accidents, there is no specific legal requirement for us to provide school crossing patrols, of which there are currently 184 in Hampshire.
"We know that local communities value their school crossing patrol officers and this is not a reflection on individuals undertaking that role.
"But there may be effective alternatives for some sites, such as installing permanent safety measures or improvements to make a crossing point safer.”
Hampshire County Council has not made any firm decision on the matter and stressed it will only remove the serivce if a crossing is deemed safe.