Lollipop lady marks 50 years of safe crossings

Jackie Higginbottom, 81, said she was "not even thinking" about retiring

An 81-year-old lollipop lady said she was "not even thinking about" retiring, as she celebrated 50 years in the role.

Jackie Higginbottom, who said she loved "everything" about her job, did her first shift as the crossing patrol warden at Royd Nursery Infant School in Sheffield in 1975.

Ms Higginbottom was awarded a British Empire Medal in 2022 for services to the community, and has received recognition from Sheffield City Council and Stocksbridge Town Council.

She said: "When you put that uniform on, there doesn't seem to be an age barrier, they come up to me at age five and say, 'hi Jackie, you alright?'."

Ms Higginbottom initially took the position after a post office worker told her recruiters were struggling to fill the role.

"I said, 'oh I'll do it', and that was it," she said.

"My dad said, 'I give it a week, lady' - he would be shocked [now]. He would say, 'I'd never have thought you'd have stuck it out'."

Ms Higginbottom received a thank you card and cake from the staff and children at Royd Nursery Infant School

Ms Higginbottom added: "I don't know what I would do without it. It's a part of me.

"There's a little boy now - as he leaves the estate on his little bike, he shouts 'Jackie!' and I get into the middle of the road so he can whizz round."

Some of the children she had helped to cross the road grew up to "achieve amazing things", she said.

One boy grew up to be a judge "at the top of his game" in the Midlands and a girl joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

"I know the children, the parents, the grandparents. The grandparents will tell the kids, 'Jackie used to see your mum across'," she said.

"I still remember faces from 50 years ago."

A spokesperson for Sheffield City Council said on social media: "Jackie is still going strong, helping generations of little feet cross safely.

"To celebrate, the pupils threw a party fit for a legend. Jackie, you're a star."

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