FEARS that speeding traffic close to a rural school could kill a child has led a parish council to turn to nearby communities for help.

Members of Croft-on-Tees Parish Council have written to Dalton, Eryholme, Cowton, and Hurworth parish councils as well as Croft Primary School, Croft Village Hall and St Peter's Church committee.

They want each one to give cash towards getting a restricted 20mph speed limit at South Parade near the primary school.

This week, Hurworth said it supported the efforts but could not offer financial assistance.

In a letter to each organisation, clerk Ian Calvert reported that traffic along that stretch had now reached a level where action had become urgent to prevent an accident happening.

The council wants the speed of traffic along South Parade restricted to 20mph and controls put in place to ease traffic congestion during peak school drop-off and pick-up times.

Several site meetings with North Yorkshire highways department have failed to push things forward because of a lack of accident statistics to justify funding the £20,000 needed for speed restrictions and additional signs.

However, the parish council said it was not prepared to wait for accidents to happen and hoped that neighbouring communities, which were home to almost threequarters of pupils at the school, would come to the rescue.

He said: "There are nearly 100 pupils, of which 70 per cent come from outside the parish.

"As a community, we are not prepared to wait for 'statistics' to happen and wish to contribute towards the cost of the 20mph project.

"Croft Parish Council has proposed that local groups join together to offer to pay £4,000 of the estimated £20,000 cost for the slowing scheme."

The request was discussed at Tuesday's meeting of Hurworth Parish Council, but any donation towards the scheme was rejected.

Coun Alan Gibson told members: "We haven't got the money and the amount they are talking about is beyond most parish councils' capabilities."