Lollipop people to wear bodycams in Clacton and Basildon due to abuse fears

The four-week bodycam trial will take place at two sites in Essex

Lollipop men and women have been given bodycams due to concerns they are being abused by drivers.

The school crossing patrol officers will wear the cameras at sites in Clacton-on-Sea and Basildon, Essex, as part of a four-week trial.

Essex County Council said the chosen crossings were on busy through roads serving several nearby schools.

Councillor Tony Ball said there was a "very small minority of drivers who are impatient and sometimes even abusive".

It is an offence if a driver does not stop when signalled to do so by a lollipop man or woman.

Conservative councillor Mr Ball, a county council cabinet member, said the majority respected "school crossing patrol officers and the safety of the children and families they help to cross the road".

But he said the actions of some drivers was "utterly unacceptable".

"Our school crossing patrol officers are wonderful people, loved by the communities they serve, and who work in rain, wind and snow to keep the children of Essex safe," he said.

"The safety and wellbeing of our school crossing patrol officers, and the safety of children and families they help to cross the road, is of utmost concern to Essex County Council."

The trials of the bodycams - at Cloes Lane, Clacton-on-Sea and Whitmore Way, Basildon - will be evaluated after the four-week period.

Essex Police's head of roads policing, Adam Pipe, said: "Keeping Essex roads safe is a top priority for us and we welcome initiatives that help us do that.

"To ensure everyone is safe, we would ask drivers to be mindful of their surroundings, reduce their speed near crossings or schools and be courteous towards other road users."

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