Parents at a Billericay infants school are so worried about the safety of their children they are raising money for the £11,000 zebra crossing Basildon District Council has refused to pay for.

Buttsbury Infants School Parents Association (BISPA) has so far raised £3,000 after the council told them a crossing outside the school was a low priority and it would not be providing any funds for one in the foreseeable future.

BISPA chairman, Graham Martin, said: "It is desperately important to have a crossing put in outside the infants school in Perry Street to help the children needing to cross the road every day.

"This has been something we have wanted to do for a long time because it is such a busy road.

"Between Buttsbury Infants School and Buttsbury Junior School in Norsey View Drive there are more than 800 pupils and we have had no crossing patrol for two years.

"There is a lot of criss crossing of the road throughout the day, not just by pupils and their parents, but also with people going to the two churches.

"The community in general has been very supportive, but we are looking for even more people to back us.

"At the moment everyone is very vigilant and no serious accidents have happened. But the sooner we get a crossing in place the safer people will feel."

Both schools have backed the campaign. A spokesperson for the infants school said: "We are extremely grateful to BISPA for going to a lot of trouble to do this fundraising. The safety of our children is a high priority for us."

A council spokesperson said: "We only have a certain amount of money given to us by Essex County Council for this kind of work.

"Because of the huge number of requests we receive for crossings we have to prioritise and can only complete a certain number each year.

"BISPA should be praised for this initiative which is a very forward thinking way of solving their problem."

The council has agreed to maintain the crossing when complete.

Billericay Area Committee backed the initiative in January, but Conservative Billericay West councillor Stephen Horgan is upset over the lack of financial support from the council.

He said: "I have nothing but praise for those raising money for the crossing, but I feel it is a disgrace that they have been forced to do this."

Sponsored walks and lots more events are planned by BISPA over the coming months

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