MOTORISTS who park illegally outside schools are being targeted in a road safety initiative.

Sunderland City Council will be focusing its attention on prosecuting those who park in marked areas outside the school gates.

The initiative, which involves the regular and sustained monitoring of all schools, is part of the ongoing Safer Routes to Schools programme.

It is hoped that reducing the number of parked cars at the start and end of the school day will ease congestion and make it easier for children to cross the road in safety.

Offenders will face a £60 penalty, reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days.

Charles Thompson, the council's manager of traffic, car parks and road safety, said: "The majority of parents and carers park sensibly when dropping off or collecting their children at school, knowing that to park on the 'School Keep Clear' markings could cost a child's life.

"We aim not only to meet Government targets by reducing the number of traffic fatalities and serious accidents to children by half within the next ten years, but also to exceed it by another ten per cent.

"We are determined to do everything we can to make children's trips to and from school safer, and removing unnecessary traffic along the way is part of that process."