PARENTS who park illegally on the school run should be ticketed in a bid to cut congestion and road danger, a headteacher said yesterday.

Headteacher Mary Frain, who runs St Cuthbert's Primary School in Hartlepool, said she would welcome additional traffic calming outside her school, but said parents also had to play their part.

She spoke out after local Labour councillors said they were eager to see a 20mph limit put in place on Stratford Road.

She said she would welcome a lower speed limit, but claimed the problems were more wide-ranging than that.

"I would be interested in a 20mph speed limit on Stratford Road - it would make a difference," she said.

"But it does get very congested and busy around the school, so sometimes they actually can't drive as fast as 30mph.

"Our biggest problem is people not parking where they should.

"We try to monitor the situation and talk to parents, and we do get attendants coming out occasionally and ticketing people, but we need it more. I would definitely like to see something done with the traffic, but we need to work together with residents."

But neighbour Ian Clark, of nearby Beachfield Drive, said he was concerned that road humps would be included in any kind of calming scheme.

"I don't think there is a problem with speed in Stratford Road," he said.

"I think the Labour group is trying to generate an issue that simply isn't there. Unless the road is clear, it's impossible to do 20mph as it is. For that reason, I object to road humps.

"The parked cars do not help. There are single yellow lines and zig zags, but parents just ignore them."

Councillor Kevin Cranney said the Labour group wanted to see a 20mph limit introduced outside every school, but he said that did not mean road humps would be introduced.

He added: "We need to ensure there is more enforcement outside each of our schools."

A Hartlepool Council spokesman said the authority intended to assess the traffic situation outside all schools in Hartlepool in the new year.

"The results of these assessments will help us to decide our spending priorities in the next financial year, 2008/09," he said.

"Residents living in the vicinity of schools will be consulted before any future safety schemes are implemented.

"In the meantime, council parking enforcement officers will continue to make periodic visits to St Cuthbert's School, and we would urge all motorists to observe parking regulations and park their vehicles responsibly."