NEW police and council patrols are being launched in a bid to keep children safe as they make their way to and from school.

As the new school year gets under way a crossing patrol officer has been appointed for a particularly hazardous point at Brewery Street, Highworth.

And West Swindon police have made preventing anti-social behaviour from drivers at school pick-up times a priority for the next few months.

Members of the neighbourhood policing team will be found outside schools in their patch to monitor inconsiderate parking and traffic flow and to tackle the post-3pm road rage outside the school gates.

PC Steve Yeates, the beat manager for West Swindon, said: “We often have a number of complaints coming in regarding inconsiderate parking and driving around schools during the morning and the afternoon.

“Each member of the neighbourhood policing team has a school that we look after, so what we proposed is to have an officer positioned outside their school when they can to act as a deterrent.

“It would not be every day but as a priority we would make an effort to be there when we can.

“Mine is Oliver Tompkins School, so I would try to get there at the right times when I can.

“It has gone down as another anti-social behaviour priority.”

The new crossing patrol officer in Highworth has been welcomed by parents after a number of incidents in Brewery Street.

Margaret Tester, the road safety and behavioural change manager with Swindon Council, said: “We have been monitoring this site for a while.

“We keep an eye on all routes children take and we have been fortunate enough to find somebody who wanted to do the job.

“More and more people have been concerned about children crossing that point on Brewery Street, because the number doing it has increased a great deal.

“It started on Tuesday when the children went back to school and it has been relieved very positively.

“We do survey the rest of the schools in the borough, and if people say they need a school crossing patrol we will go and look at vehicle and pedestrian footfall and assess the area.

“The most difficult part is finding somebody to step into the role.

“It is not a voluntary post but it does require a lot of time. We are just in the process of a full site audit for 2014 across the schools in Swindon which will give us a better idea of each.”

Anita Cairns, the new crossing patrol officer for Highworth, said: “Parents and children have been pleased. There have been a few drivers reluctant to stop, but they will soon get the message.”