WHEN drivers beep their horns at a bus it is usually because they are stuck behind one.

But cars sounded their horns in Little Lever in support of a huge “walking bus” — made up of 120 brightly dressed youngsters — marching for better road safety.

Pupils from Bowness Community Primary School were joined by another 30 teachers and parents as they walked from the school to Lever Street and back, obtaining the support of drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

The school, in Church Street, Little Lever, created posters and banners for the Giant Walking Bus campaign, run by the road safety charity Brake.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of the dangers of speeding, in order to allow children to walk and cycle to school safely.

Sarah Ellis, a teaching assistant at the school, came up with the idea of getting its pupils to support the campaign, and she said: “The children really loved it. We got a really good response from people in their houses and the traffic.

“Cars gave their support by beeping their horns at us.

“The traffic near our school is very congested and there have been plenty of near incidents.

“I hope this march will make more drivers slow down.

“This in turn will enable the children to lead healthier lifestyles by walking and cycling to school.

“I’m very proud of the children and they came up with some fantastic ideas. Clearly a lot of effort had gone into making the many posters and banners that were there.”

Giant Walking Bus tied in with the school’s cycling proficiency training programme for pupils in years five and six.

For the campaign, Sam Merchant, an eight-year-old pupil at the school, produced a poster containing the slogans ‘20 is plenty’ and ‘kill your speed’.

He said: “It was really fun. I enjoyed walking down the road shouting and cheering. I learnt how important it is to be safe on the road.”

Daniel Sutton, aged 10, produced a poster with the slogan ‘Don’t run me over’.

He said: “I enjoyed going down the street and getting noticed by all the traffic. I learnt that people have to stop speeding and be more aware of children.”