COUNCIL chiefs have angered parents at a Winchester school by refusing to restore their crossing patrol despite an increase in traffic.

Congestion outside Weeke Primary School has increased by 15 per cent since 2011, or nearly 700 cars a day, according to a survey commissioned following a safety appeal.

'Save our lollipop man' - school's appeal to council

But Hampshire County Council has stood by its decision not to replace lollipop man Robin Pritchard.

Campaign leader David Adams said: "If a child is seriously injured or killed as a result it will be Hampshire County Council's fault.

"This is a terrible and frankly ridiculous situation."

Transport chiefs say the existing zebra crossing in Stoney Lane will address the same safety concerns as a school crossing patrol (SCP).

In an email to campaigner James McQuat, traffic and safety manager Marc Samways said: "Having carefully assessed the location and how pedestrians are crossing the road, we believe that the zebra crossing provides a suitable and safe crossing facility for the school and wider community.

"Our decisions in respect of requests, whether for services like a SCP or new infrastructure, consider whether the facility is justified and whether providing it should be a priority compared with other demands on funding."

Steve Brine MP and county councillors Martin Tod and Jackie Porter have joined the battle amid cost-cutting reductions in patrol officers across Hampshire.

Cllr Tod said: "The council has to get its act together on crossing patrols. When it's already taking too long to fill crossing patrol vacancies, it seems bonkers to deliberately create a new one in Weeke and then not replace it - particularly when the latest survey shows that there's more traffic there and its going faster than it did five years ago when Weeke was last surveyed".

Parent volunteers at Weeke who have helped children cross the road since Mr Pritchard's departure are likely to stand down "within the next few weeks" because they are putting themselves at risk, Mr Adams said.

He said the council "will have been warned, repeatedly, and they will have ignored their own research that confirmed the need for them to manage this risk.

"They have also told us not to worry because average traffic speeds are under 30mph, which would be a great comfort to anyone whose child is run over by a car going at 20mph, I'm sure."