ALVA Primary School is in need of volunteers to help children cross the road, in the absence of a lollipop person at the school.

Concerns about the lack of a crossing guard over the last few months have been raised with ward councillor Martha Benny.

After hearing about the temporary situation, she has been working with the primary and education department to get it resolved.

The elected member believes it is one of the most "dangerous" school areas in terms of crossing because it is on a main road.

So, last week she swapped the chambers for lollipop duties by donning a Hi-Vis vest to direct youngsters across at the end of the day.

Cllr Benny has stressed the need to be "proactive instead of reactive" with regards to road safety and also wants to see volunteers with PVGs come forward to lend a hand.

She said: "When I looked into it I thought this is one of the worst schools not to have a lollipop crossing because it's not even a 20 mile an hour speed limit on that road, it's a 30.

"It's not quite so bad in the morning but at night-time, when all the kids are coming out all at once and the parents are standing waiting on them, it gets quite congested."

Cllr Benny also highlighted that, although there are barriers in place, it is quite an "open spot".

Longer-term, she wants to see the road outside the school, which is situated on the B908, reduced to a 20-mph zone.

In the meantime, she would like to see people come together to help out.

She said: "Short-term we're hoping to get volunteers to come in and 20 minutes at night it's all it takes.

"We need to start becoming more of a community because as everybody knows the council doesn't have the money.

"And I'm more than happy to go to different groups and one thing leads to another when you start doing something like this, you get asked to do something else, and I'm quite happy to do that.

"That's what I'm here for, that's why I've been elected and as long as the community is happy with it then I'm quite happy to take it on."

Councillor Graham Lindsay, education spokesperson, said: "The council appreciates the concerns about the absence of a crosser at this point.

"The school has been working with the children and parents to emphasise the need for safety when crossing the road.

"In addition the council is actively trying to get a short-term replacement for the crosser and is also seeking parent volunteers to help children cross this road."