Children walk to school in safety

Children aged three to 11 who attend 15 primary and nursery schools in the Stanley area of Durham are being issued with reflective and fluorescent tabards to make it easier for drivers to see them as they cross the road.

A joint county council and SureStart Stanley scheme hopes to persuade the youngsters that walking to school is cool.

Cartoon character Travel Plan Sam is being enlisted to help to get the message across.

He has already been used to encourage children and their families to use more environmentally-friendly modes of transport and will now reinforce the safety message.

He will be making personal appearances to see 45 reception and nursery children in Stanley, next week.

County council area road safety officer Ann Corbett said the tabards were the idea of SureStart health promotion worker Jaime Battye.

Ms Corbett said: "The aim is to help children to become more aware of the importance to road safety of being seen on walking journeys during the school day.

"In 2003, 14 children aged under seven were injured on the roads in Derwentside."

School travel plan advisor Alison Butterfield said: "Travel Plan Sam, as a cartoon character, is a familiar figure among schoolchildren in the county and, because of his popularity, we have invested in a specially-designed Sam costume so he can make personal appearances to reinforce the safety message.

"Sam promotes school travel plans which aim to encourage people to choose more sustainable means of transport.

"This, in turn, will help to reduce congestion and pollution and lead to fitter, healthier people," she added.

Sam will be wearing his own yellow tabard when he meets children from East Stanley School, St Mary's RC Primary, Shield Row Primary, Oxhill Nursery, South Stanley Infants, Beamish Primary, Burnside Primary, and Craghead Childcare Centre.

He will also visit nursery pupils at Little Acorns, Emerald Nursery, Bloemfontein Primary, Tanfield Lea, Greenland Community and Louisa Nursery.