CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save Hurworth School have gained a powerful ally in one of Darlington's biggest employers.

Cummins Engines, which employs 1,000 staff at Yarm Road, labelled the borough council's plans to relocate the school next to its site as "crazy".

Safety manager Frank Walsh told the D&S Times that 10,000 vehicles - including many lorries - enter and leave the site each week.

Salters Lane, which lies between the company and the proposed new 1,200-pupil school site on land near Alderman Tommy Crooks Park, was used 24 hours a day.

"We are deeply concerned," he said, "We object in principle and if a planning application is drawn up, we will be one of the first to object.

"We cannot see how a school could be built on that site and all the safety concerns be addressed.

"The school would be on the wrong side of a very busy road with all of the attractions for children such as Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald's on the other side."

He feared what would happen if there was an accident involving a child and one of their lorries or other vehicles.

Mr Walsh said the proposed site was not suitable for a quiet learning environment.

"We have also always been told that this side of Yarm Road was specifically for industrial purposes," he said.

"That is one of the reasons Darlington Council for a number of years has denied High Point Estates permission to develop the glass building site for leisure facilities.

"We have asked the council to draw up a co-ordinated plan for this side of town and appoint someone to consider the long-term safety and traffic issues."

Cummins is considering expanding its own warehouse facilities off Salters Lane.

The council is also proposing to move its Vicarage Road depot to an 11.6-acre site behind Cummins, meaning more traffic in the lane.

A planning application is expected in the next eight weeks. A council spokesman said the depot's vehicle movements would mostly be from 4.30-7.30am and 2.30-5pm.

Members of the Save Hurworth and Rural Education (Share) protest group believe the school relocation would bring traffic chaos to Yarm Road. They illustrated their point last Friday, when a convoy of more than 100 vehicles descended on the proposed school site.

It caused rush-hour mayhem on the nearby A66 bypass and caused problems for lorries trying to get to Cummins.

The council does not believe there would be major congestion as a result of the relocation.

* Parish councils across Darlington have pledged their support to the parents' campaign.

A special meeting of Darlington Association of Parish Councils took place on Tuesday night with the action committee.

Parish councillors from Hurworth, Middleton St George, Bishopton, Merrybent, Heighington, Whessoe and Neasham discussed the impact on their rural wards of Darlington Borough Council's proposal for Hurworth School to take over Eastbourne Comprehensive in a new school.

Coun Doris Jones, chairman of Middleton St George Parish Council, said: "We are losing all of our village facilities and Hurworth is the only secondary school in the whole rural area of Darlington."

Full story: next week