Primary schools in Middlesbrough are taking part in Walk to School Week by persuading teachers and parents to leave their cars at home from Monday.

There will be 13,000 children, parents and teachers from the town's 42 schools taking part in the event.

Middlesbrough Council says the school run accounts for a large proportion of the rush hour traffic.

Ros Pluck, the council's road safety officer, said: "We want to encourage parents and pupils to walk to and from school regularly. It is ironic that one of the main reasons parents drive their children to school is to protect them from the danger of traffic, yet by doing so, more dangers are created at the school gates."

Secondary school Acklam Grange is also taking part in the event.