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VIDEO: Cars seized on the school run

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Two drivers had their cars seized yesterday morning during an unannounced road safety operation outside a city primary school.

Police and Leicester City Council road safety and parking officers targeted dozens of parents and carers dropping off children at Coleman Primary, in Gwendolen Road.

The aim of the operation, which ran between 8.30am and 9.30am and again between 2.15pm and 3.45pm – peak school times – was to clamp down on illegal parking on kerbs, yellow lines and zig-zag lines.

However, during the course of the morning, potentially more serious offences were flagged up.

During the morning session, officers seized a blue Vauxhall and a silver Skoda and spoke to the two male drivers.

One was believed to have no insurance and no valid UK driving licence, while the other's licence was believed to have expired.

The men have been told to produce the correct documents or face being fined or prosecuted. Mercury photographer Andy Baker caught the moment one of the drivers was spoken to by police on camera.

Officers issued eight penalty notices, including three to drivers who did not park correctly. The rest included offences of not wearing a seatbelt, overloading a vehicle and no insurance.

These drivers now face fines of up to £60 as well as possible prosecution, depending on the offence.

The move was welcomed by the majority of parents at the school.

Hira Modhvadia, who has a nine-year-old son at Coleman Primary and lives a three-minute walk away, said: "Although he's more than capable of walking to school himself, I won't let him because the traffic here is so dangerous.

"Some people park on the pavements and on the zig-zag lines – it's an accident waiting to happen so I walk him to school every day and pick him up.

"I wish the road safety officers could be out here every day."

Parent Billal Girach, who drives his son to school, said: "It's good to remind parents of their responsibilities and to make sure all children are kept safe.

"It's a difficult situation – the road is a busy one and there isn't a lot of parking available to parents who have no choice but to drive their children to school."

The operation was requested by head teacher Nigel Bruen.

He said: "It's not meant with any animosity, but we're on a road which gets very congested. It's a bus route and ambulance route to Leicester General Hospital and for that reason speed bumps aren't a viable option.

"That's why making sure that parents drive slowly and park responsibly is important."

Pc Rich Barber, from Spinney Hill Park police station, took part in the operation.

He said: "We want all parents to comply with the road traffic regulations and that means not parking on the zig-zag lines or yellow lines. They are there for a reason."

Council road safety officer Lyn Rowe said the operation had been successful and that drivers appeared to be getting the message. She said more operations outside city schools were planned.

VIDEO: Cars seized on the school run


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