THE sight of lifeless children in the middle of the road is enough to make anyone rethink driving behaviour – at least that is the hope of concerned parents in Tullibody.

Members of the Banchory Primary School Parent Council are working to improve safety around the school and are asking road users to exercise care when picking up and dropping off their young ones.

To that end, they have taken an unexpected step of asking P1-P3 pupils to lay down on the streets and pavements nearby, in a chilling illustration of the potential consequences of inconsiderate driving.

Alastair Freck, chair of the group, said the mock-up of the students playing dead has already sparked some debate among parents on social media.

However, he argues there have been a number of "close calls" in recent memory and that their efforts are aimed at making sure the image of children injured or killed does not become a reality.

He told the Advertiser: "It is a bit unusual and a bit dramatic, but seems to be having the desired effect because people are already talking about it.

"And though it's caused a bit of a stir, it has been mostly well-received.

"It's not about blaming parents. We just want people driving near to the school to consider where and how they are parking and to make sure they are doing so safely and legally.

"There has been a quite a few close calls in the past and generally speaking some of the kids can find it hard to cross roads and get to school.

"We also need to make sure that the fire service, the ambulance service and the police can get to the school easily, if they need to.

"It's getting to the stage where police will have to come out and start fining people – and that's not what we want."

In the past, Police Scotland has threatened to issue fixed penalty notices to motorists who ignore parking regulations near schools.

The issue has been highlighted at a number of places in the Wee County, with road checks set up at Redwell in the past.

But it is hoped that the safety campaign being orchestrated at Banchory last week might help influence driver behaviour beyond just Tullibody.

Mr Freck added: "I know most schools in Clackmannanshire experience the same problem – we know that we are not the only one.

"We are obviously hoping that parents will think about where they are parking here, but we also hope this will affect those dropping off at other schools in the county too."