Road rage getting worse, says lollipop man

A lollipop man who has been working outside a primary school for six years said his job was getting more challenging due to an increase in road rage.

Matthew Crossman patrols outside of Eynesbury Primary in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, and said one incident had left him needing hospital treatment after a vehicle hit him.

Crossman said in his time he had suffered abuse and been "clipped by cars" six times after they failed to stop.

He believed things got worse when a 20mph speed limit was introduced in 2024, adding that "drivers get so frustrated". The county council said incidents at crossings were "rare", but it was "extremely grateful" to Crossman's service.

Crossman said he saw many drivers distracted by mobile phones or satnavs.

"They come round a blind bend doing more than the 20mph speed limit and I have to jump out of the way, but am sometimes too slow," he said.

He added that being clipped on the hip by a vehicle could be a bruising experience.

Crossman said the worst time was in June 2024 when he broke his ankle while preventing a young child being badly injured or killed.

"I had six weeks on crutches, six weeks of physiotherapy and four months of psychotherapy, as it was a very traumatic incident," he added.

Francesca Pryar has two children attending the school that Crossman patrols at and said she had seen him get verbal abuse.

"People do get cross. The lollipop man is just doing his job. The cars speed past here at 30 or 40mph - it should be 20mph," she said.

Without the manned patrol "it would be much more scary to cross the road" and a "big worry" for parents, she added.

Cambridgeshire County Council said it had 48 School Crossing Patrol (SCP) locations, including five vacancies in Huntingdon, Eaton Socon, Fordham and two in March.

"Our SCP officers deliver a vital community service helping Cambridgeshire's children to cross our roads as safely as possible," a spokesperson said.

"While incidents are rare, this highly valued role does come with an element of risk. We are extremely grateful to Matthew for his six years of exemplary service.

"All of our SCP officers are trained in how to respond to any incidents that do arise.

"We take the safety of our SCP officers extremely seriously and when appropriate will refer incidences of unsafe driving to the police for investigation.

"We would urge all road users to treat each other, and especially pedestrians, with patience and respect, maintaining a constant awareness of their surroundings."

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