Road near St Martin's Primary School to temporarily close to traffic

Route Des Coutures will become Guernsey's first school street

A road outside a school in Guernsey will close to traffic during drop-off and pick-up times after safety concerns were raised by pupils.

St Martin's Primary School will trial the island's first school street scheme from 29 March.

Route Des Coutures will be temporarily closed to vehicles on weekdays from 08:30 to 09:00 and 14:45 to 15:15.

The States said the scheme would be reviewed after a week and extended if it is successful.

Clare Giles, the school's head teacher, said pupils expressed "significant concern" about having to navigate the narrow road due to a lack of pavements.

"We had an incident last term involving a cyclist and vehicle, and pupils routinely report near misses," she said.

"I am very proud of our young people for not only raising this issue with maturity and conviction but also being heavily involved in the creation of what we hope will be a solution."

Paul James, traffic and highway services road safety officer, said the change would improve safety and cause minimal disruption.

Cyclists and vehicles accessing properties will still be able to use the road while the restrictions are in force.

Follow BBC Guernsey on Twitter and Facebook. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].