SAFETY concerns have been raised about the volume of traffic outside a primary school.

In a letter to Norton Town Council, Matthew Bennett, captain of Malton Salvation Army, said it would only be time before a child was knocked down near Norton Primary School in Grove Street and the approaching Wood Street.

“On my approach to work in Wood Street, a boy dashed out onto the road between illegally parked cars before his mother could stop him. Fortunately, my speed was in accordance with the area,” he said.

“At the same time as I was trying to avoid hitting the boy, my attention was to a driver also parked illegally deciding to make a three-point turn.”

He said it was time for action before there was a fatality. “The traffic in Wood Street is horrendous; parents, children and drivers really have to have their eyes and ears in every direction with all that is happening around them.

“Norton Primary School usually put signage out but that is usually ignored and a ticket issued by the traffic warden for illegal parking will not deter the issue. What will it take before a kid is knocked down?”

Norton Primary's Grove Street site caters for younger pupils from nursery to Year 4. The other site for Year 5 and 6 pupils is in Langton Road.

Cllr David Lloyd-Williams said: “There has been a 20-minute relaxation of the yellow lines for dropping and collecting children outside the school since the 1970s, but it also needs a 20mph limit. It is also down to drivers to be aware that the school is there and therefore children and drive carefully. The problem is that Norton has the biggest primary school in North Yorkshire which is in the wrong place and has not been allowed to grow.”

Cllr Sharon Cawte said: “The school has been putting out signs to stop people parking on the path.We should ask to school to reiterate the issues to parents.” Cllr Bryan Barrett said: "The problem is that hundreds of children are arriving at the school in a space of 20 minutes and I am not surprised that these concerns have been raised. Thankfully people are using the road carefully and driving sensibly. “I hear Mr Bennett’s concerns and I feel we should write to the school to see if we can do something collectively.”

Cllr Sharon Cawte said: “The school has been putting out signs to stop people parking on the path. I think we should ask to school to reiterate the issues to parents.”