Photo-a-Day  (Tuesday, 18th February, 2025)

That's one thing you'll never see in England. A black police officer on school crossing duty. Or a white one for that matter.

That’s a cheery little photo Brian. It put a smile on my face.

They are a good idea because you have so many women picking up their children who don't understand what a simple bollard means.

That scene couldn’t help but bring a smile to even the grumpiest of motorists.

Why is drivers so thick. It's obvious what double yellow lines mean.
Just stick parking fines on them. They'll soon stop.
After saying that what a great idea.

People should not park there it is on a bend double yellow lines and on a junction .But again rules do not apply to some drivers

This is no laughing matter. Children could be injured or even killed if stupid drivers park there. The yellow lines are there for a reason. You also see stupid drivers parking on pelican crossings.

Mothers still wearing pyjamas would park there, they are the Lazy ones.
I see it everyday. Rules don't mean a thing to them.
More traffic wardens we need, not the police, there's that many parking on double yellow lines, the fines would pay their wages. Common sense.

On Breakfast news this morning, automatic number plate recognition cameras are to be installed at schools in Knutsford, those breaking the rules will receive penalty notices...sounds good to me. Make it possible at every schools in England.

The Police should take the car or van off them and have it crushed.

They'll get runover stood in the road like that.

The vast majority live within walking distance of schools but like to show off their latest big four wheel drive acquisitions. Ridiculous when they have to go to these lengths, they will find somewhere to park usually blocking someone’s drive.

Nice one Brian.
Encouraging young ones to become junior road safety officers can't be bad. I like these cut out cops. All schools should have them. Hope they don't get run over or pinched.

Outside any school you will see Fat Mums in Fat Cars parked up to an hour before schools out to get the closest spot to pick their Fat kids and take them to MacDonald’s, KFC or Pizza Hut as the little darling’s must be starving.

Brian, your smiley photo me to put my thinking cap on.
Instead of double yellow lines, why not a line of those chains with spikes on, that would really do the trick and occasionally even a big grin.

This is a great photo Brian, it puts our daily life in prospective to the more important things on our doorstep. This is much better than buildings and market stalls. This is what really matters in our lives.
Thank for bringing this to light.
We see this at almost every school in the land and it needs stopping.
Install cameras they'll pay for themselves with fines, it's a no brainer.

Has people not got a brain people who drive who hold a full licence should know their highway code rules not to park there its common sense, it just go to show lazy people dont care no wonder this country is in a mess with brainless people.

Dennis, Colin and Tom. This is serious and no laughing matter.
The point of all this is children could be killed. Thanks for showing Brian.

Walk to school....simple.

I can see the sense in trying to encourage young ones to help police.
Many senior citizens on here would struggle to pass the medical, never mind work for free.

The bollard are politely telling ignorant drivers to stop parking illegally next to school gates. The double yellow lines should be enough, but some drivers are so stupid they don't understand the Highway code rules.
Give them penalty points.

if only the Spanish knew what no parking here meant?????

In Wigan do the school run not get a 15 minutes council parking allowance? In London, where I live, they can park on zig zags , double yellows , on corners , to pick up their kids , for that short period . I have always thought this is utter madness but for the school run there are different rules . I remember politely saying to a lady who had parked on a corner it was very dangerous to do so . She just snapped with rage and anger at my suggestion. She looked under so much stress , I ended up apologising to her for upsetting her . You can’t win . I now just ignore the school run whatever they do .
Ps . We once applied for a controlled parking zone around the school and it was the school and parents who made sure it never went through . It’s wonderful to be alive sometimes !

The real problem is that schools/colleges that are local to students have been closed and now students need to travel to them. They all manage to provide dozens of parking spaces for staff but can't accommodate those attending school. Perhaps that should be included in any planning permissions for new schools

As with a lot of the "YOUNGER" generation today They have the attitude "I'll do what I want".. You only need to go to a football game when they are all stood up in front of the people in the sitting area. When you ask them politely to sit down You get a load of abuse and the stock phrase "YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO"" We can go back to the same thing LACK OF DISCIPLINE and LACK OF RESPECT

They don’t take notice of ‘ real’ policemen so I can’t see the pyjama brigade taking notice of props! They know they won’t get fined.
It’s a case of
Mummy..” Oh Look Theodore and Amelia funny police men what fun!”
Theodore “ I want to be a policeman when I grow up.”…
Amelia “ Don’t be silly Theo they’re not real you never see a real policeman they’re very rare.”….

Well said Mr Grump this generation today is bad and horrible peoples attitude.

Some People on pad treat this as a joke, it's very serious indeed.
I walk to school and back with mine every school day and believe me cars are parked everywhere, even in front of drives.
Shocking. Thank you Brian for bringing this to the public.

"Do not park here" sounds much better than "No parking".
Good educational photo, Brian.

It’s bus drivers I feel sorry for trying to get past on a busy road with cars parked on both sides of the road outside school. This happens at Daisy Hill on a road which is bad enough with the bends in the road. I certainly wouldn’t like to drive a bus.

There is a lot of history to the Holgate area of Orrell and especially so of John Holgate, who was minister of the church on Church Street and during his time there he walked barefoot all the way to Liverpool, it was to raise funds for the school and to supply much needed clogs for the children. see the 4 links below for information:

https://www.wiganbuildings.co.uk/building.php?id=1075

https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol4/pp89-91

https://www.wigantoday.net/arts-and-culture/orrell-church-to-celebrate-200th-anniversary-of-historic-building-4826756

https://irp.cdn-website.com/6eef6fc6/files/uploaded/ORRELL%20Heritage%20Walks_iSmYsm9bRUSoXdGYSIcL.pdf

I do take children’s safety extremely seriously and that of parents and grandparents walking children to school.
I’ve walked my own children to school and my grandson when he was young. Thank goodness for the lollipop ladies and men, the abuse they sometimes get and the frustrated drivers late to park up, banging on their steering wheels mouthing ‘get a move on’ gets my goat.
Nothing annoys them more than slowly and politely walking slowly across the road and giving them a big smile.
So just grin and bear it. They’ll never change.

Never run or walk fast on crossings.
Highway code rules.
But that's beside the point here. It's about idiotic car and van drivers parking on Double yellow lines especially at primary schools.

Brian apart from this great photo you've professionally taken, is also raises the point about road safety that is very important for mums, dads and teachers. And more so, drivers who don't care about road safety.

In New Zealand the schools are set up to let the kids themselves close the road and bring the traffic to a standstill so they can cross safely.
Here is a video of them doing it on a nice sunny day. https://youtu.be/kXAsiV-tOAM?si=SYrZeo8xaDu3zlPA

Veronica....they'd take notice if they slapped a parking fine notice on their car windscreen. Brian, this is the best photo this year. Why? because it's meaningful, and needs something done.

I live next door to a school. Believe me, it isn’t just the Mums, the Dads are just as bad, as don’t get me started on the Grandparents. Our drive is blocked most days, and when challenged, all we get is an earful of abuse!

These signs are there to remind mothers and fathers that it’s THEIR CHILDREN that they are trying to keep safe.
To do it by raising a smile is far more effective than shouting at people. All this talk about fines and crushing cars just gets people more and more annoyed.

DTEASE. Most driver are selfish and disrespectful where their park their steel cans. I don't think it's about smiling one bit..These signes represent the school children saying "don't park here, we can't see properly when we try and cross the road". Read between the lines. Children can make a point more than adults can. I hope it works because it is up to Adults to stop this careless and selfish parking.
I totally agree about taking away vehicles and crushing them same as the Police do with no Tax, Insurance and MOT. I agree with most people's comments here today, and thanks to Brian for this photo, drivers will take notice.

I agree with helen B about blocking drives. And definitely agree about parking fines. Starting at Schools then move on to the high street outside fast food shops, where they park vehicles on double yellow lines and stop the moving traffic from passing.
Many thanks to Brian for bringing this to light, its a very important subject.

Parking fines first, if they are persistent, feed the car to the crusher, that will stop it.
They'll soon get the message.

Bus and truck drivers are used to roads being blocked off with illegal parking, that isn't the issue here.
Its about school children's safety.

So you take their car and crush it, what’s to stop these selfish, disrespectful people from going out and buying another car? Meanwhile the kids have to walk to school, no doubt having to cross busy, roads in the process. Roads full of selfish, disrespectful people still driving their cars.

In other words there shouldn’t be any illegal parking for any reason. Children’s safety outside school and traffic congestion with parking on both sides of the road with no room for manoeuvre has a knock on effect and the yellow lines are there to be obeyed.

Well DTease to buy another car will cost
Thousands of £££££s. I wouldn't think they be in such a hurry th buy one. People don't have that much cash floating around.

Correct Veronica. People with school children should walk to school, like we did. Parking up at school should be stopped, full stop.

Some parents can't walk their kids to school because they are at work trying to earn money for benedorm holidays and prosecco evening

Don’t you believe it Mark. The kind of people we are talking about are awash with money that they don’t know what to do with.
Close on 50 billion pounds have been deposited in cash ISAs recently, and that’s only on rumours, rumours mind you, of changes in the coming budget.

Not everyone has ISAs and money should have nothing to do with car parking. Having cars taken away and crushed is a great solution and they should think twice next time IF they are able to afford one.

How many cars are parked here on this photo Robert?

Unless the ‘Chancer’ and the rest of the gang are gotten rid of nobody will have any savings at all. They’re worse than grave robbers.

None....DTEASE, they've been Crushed!

Totally agree with Veronica, for me, Veronica should be the next Primeminister.

Never mind Veronica, only another four years and a bit to go. That’s the trouble with losing an election. You have to wait for five years before you can have another go!
POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
Even Comrade Trump is flying the red flag now!

I'll duplicate Mark, DTease, none.
All crushed and no more.

Mark, it is estimated that over a million people are driving around with no insurance. Threats of crushing their cars doesn’t seem to be stopping them.

Arthur I only go off my instinct with people and I have never been proved wrong…. Anybody can see through the triple alliance and t’other hangers on for their own benefits. Trump is showing his colours now I wonder what else he has up his red woolly sleeve! He would have been clapped in irons in the fifties in America.

Robert/Mark, no cars have been crushed for parking on double yellow lines.

This morning Thursday, a driving instructor parked his car on double yellow lines at Platt Bridge, while he went to Galloways pie shop.
It just goes to show doesn't it !!