A FRESH campaign has been launched to reinstate a lollipop lady to serve three schools.

Dave Harris, councillor for Colchester's Berechurch ward, says the crossing patrol - scrapped by County Hall in 2010 - should come back because of an increase in pedestrians.

Pauline Meader spent years helping children to cross nearby Monkwick Avenue, Colchester, before retiring, only to see the school crossing patrol removed a short time later.

She helped pupils attending Monkwick Infant and Junior Schools and Thomas Lord Audley School.

Essex County Council's original decision was met with a huge backlash with a 500-signature petition to save the patrol.

Mr Harris has called for the decision to be reviewed because of increased traffic in the past five years.

"Thomas Lord Audley School now has a much larger pupil admission number per year - 168.

"Monkwick Junior School is approaching the pupil admission number limit again with 204 pupils, due to popularity and new build of estates such as the Quarters estate and Solus estate "Essex County Council has just finished the building of three new classes on the Monkwick Infant School site - due to new build and the provision of much needed nursery provision.

"Infant and nursery school growth will mean a much higher degree of car use as the younger children cannot make their own way to school."

Mr Harris said 650 homes are on the two new estates - equivalent to 1,200 people.

He also pointed to a crash in School Road in 2011 in which Tiana Page, then eight, was critically injured when she was run over but made a good recovery.

Her sister Brooke, then ten, was also knocked down and broke her back.

Railings installed around Monkwick Junior School following a Gazette campaign.

Ray Gooding, Essex County Council’s cabinet member for education and lifelong learning, said: “We plan to visit and review the site shortly.

"We will assess the site to ascertain whether this meets the National Criteria required for the establishment of a school crossing patrol.

"However, given the pressures that we have, not only with funding but also recruiting people for this work, we would appreciate community involvement in this process.”