Four Crosses pupils celebrate new bypass
Children in a village on the Shropshire border took part in a mass walk to school to celebrate the opening of a new bypass which has made the area safer.
Children in a village on the Shropshire border took part in a mass walk to school to celebrate the opening of a new bypass which has made the area safer.
A multi-million pound improvement scheme for the A483 in Four Crosses, near Oswestry, opened last month and now takes thousands of cars and lorries away from the heart of the village.
This is much to the delight of parents, staff and pupils of Llandysilio Primary School who have more confidence to walk to school.
In celebration the school organised a walking bus event to show how pleased they were that the area has become much quieter.
Doreen Davies, deputy head, said about 20 per cent of the 130 pupils were now walking to school on a regular basis since the bypass opened - a number she expects will increase.
She said: "A lot more children walk to school now that the road has opened. It is now safer for us."
The idea of creating a walking bus for a day was taken from a national event held across the UK called the Giant Walking Bus.
The event was co-ordinated by road safety charity Brake and sponsored by fuel brand Jet to raise awareness of the number of children killed and hurt on roads, help schools to teach children about road safety, and appeal to drivers to slow down in communities.