FLASHING 20mph speed signs will be installed on main roads outside schools in a bid to make motorists slow down.

A £1million pot to repair and provide new flashing speed warning signs is being used to install 140 flashing 20mph speed limit signs outside 60 schools which are not covered by 20mph speed limits now operating on residential roads.

Bolton Council aims to reduce vehicle speeds and to make the borough's roads safer.

There will be flashing amber hazard warning lights on the signs, along with a ‘children crossing’ warning sign to urge motorists to be aware of their speed.

A sign will be installed on each approach to the school.

The news comes as a consultation to cut school crossing patrols is under way as part of budget proposals to save £12.5 million savings.

Forty crossing patrols could be axed for a saving of £200,000. The council said that some schools are already funding their own lollipop staff and hopes this could increase as a way forward. However, to date, nothing has been approved.

Installation of the poles and signage outside schools has started, with the first signs set to become operational next month.

The flashing lights on the signs will be controlled by a centrally managed system and switched on at school drop-off and pick-up times. They will not be in operation outside of these times or outside of school term time.

The programme is being funded from a one-off £1 million capital investment agreed by councillors last February.

Other projects such as driver feedback signs which indicate to a motorist how fast they are driving are also being funded through the £1 million pot.

Bolton Council’s executive cabinet member for environmental services, Cllr Nick Peel, said: "We have made an ongoing commitment to improving road safety and hopefully these signs will encourage motorists to slow down.

"A child has a much better chance of survival if they are hit by a car travelling at 20mph rather than 30mph. Motorists can help us make the roads around our schools safer for pupils by co-operating with the new advisory limits.

"We are introducing these signs outside schools alongside the introduction of 20mph speed limit areas on residential roads across Bolton."

The Ferns Academy is one of the schools to benefit from the new signs.

The stretch of road outside the Ferns Primary Academy, in Plodder Lane, Farnworth, will have a 20mph speed limit imposed at the start and finish of the school day.

Adele Young, head of school, said: "We are absolutely delighted. Our chair of governors has been writing to Bolton Council for a long time about this issue and we are pleased that we have now had this outcome.

"The safety of our pupils is paramount, not only in school but also on their journeys to and from home, and we will do everything we possibly can to keep them safe.

"We were pushing for it to be made into a permanent 20mph zone and that is what we would like to have ideally, as we have nursery children who are coming in at lunchtime.

"It is a very busy road and while we appreciate that drivers need to use it, our concern is always the safety of our children."

Cllr Jean Gillies has been campaigning to improve safety in Plodder Lane and Glynne Street, but says there are still significant dangers posed by parents parking on the pavements outside the school.

She said: "It is a busy main road and a very dangerous one.

"For about a year, we have been looking at the traffic management situation around the school.

"I think having a roundabout installed by the King's Arms would be the best solution, but I don't think it will happen.

"There are still problems around there with parents parking on the pavements. It has meant that people with prams are having to walk in the road.

"We have had enforcement officers out there before and things improve, but then it gets worse again once they are gone.

"It is frustrating because the people who park on pavements there are putting people's lives at risk."

Mrs Young added: "We have had issues with parents parking on the pavement, but we have a crossing patrol who is really vigilant and monitors that.

"There are signs that are put out at the start and end of the school day and our staff manage the situation well, otherwise it would be a far more serious problem."