Darlington voluntary lollipop jobs plan scrapped

Plans to make school-crossing roles voluntary have been scrapped by Darlington Council following concerns by local people.

The Labour-run authority needs to reduce its budget by £15.8m by 2015-16.

One of the measures considered was a review of the role of school crossing patrols, to test the feasibility of a volunteer scheme.

This prompted thousands of responses, from concerned parents and teachers, and the proposal was dropped.

The move could have saved up to £100,000 a year, and the council will now consider alternative measures.

Councillor Bill Dixon, leader of the council, said that it was having to make some "very difficult choices" about services.

He said: "Whilst I am delighted we have been able to make this decision for staff, parents and teachers, regretfully we are now in the position where we will have to look to other services to see if the necessary savings can be found."