CRUNCH talks over the future of the borough's school crossing patrols will be held in January.

Dudley Council is reviewing the service following the results of a report, costing £20,000, which was commissioned to discover what encouraged and prevented youngsters walking or cycling to and from school.

Research revealed that 55 out of the borough's 79 school patrol sites did not meet national criteria, which would give the council the green light to remove them - so emotions were running high during last night's Place Scrutiny Committee meeting.

Worried lollipop wardens descended on Dudley Council House, armed with a petition signed by 4,000 parents and carers, determined to prove how valuable the service is.

Sharon Smith, who patrols outside Pedmore CE Primary School in Stourbridge, said earlier this week she was left to cross children over the busy Hagley Road alone when the traffic lights failed.

She said: "I had a few near misses so there is no way the children would have crossed safely without me."

Jean Nicholls, who is stationed on Thorns Road, Quarry Bank, said even when traffic lights were working, many drivers failed to hit the brakes, adding that she had counted 400 cars running red lights over the course of one term.

She said: "The best thing would be for the council to keep us. We are there for the children, our main priority is their safety."

Jill Curtis, who is currently manning the six lanes of traffic over the two crossings outside the Round Oak pub in Merry Hill, said that crossing patrol staff were also a "security blanket" for many children.

She explained: "If they have a problem or are being bullied, they will come to us. I had one child in tears the other day because they thought I was going."

Funding for the service is in place until March 2019, but the pressure is now on for the cash-strapped council to find a permanent funding solution beyond that.

Members of the scrutiny development working group will thrash out ideas during a meeting on January 16 to come up with recommendations for the council's cabinet.

Councillor Karen Shakespeare, the authority’s cabinet member for environmental services, said she was keen to see the school crossing service continue and added: "There is still a lot to discuss here and I'm very pleased the working group will be looking at this in January.

"We all care passionately about the safety of the children."