A MALVERN headteacher wants steps taken to help parents and children cross a busy main road outside his school.

The lollipop man at Great Malvern Primary School, Stan Pratty, stepped down on Tuesday, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 75.

Now headteacher Jonathan Sides wants to find a new way to make crossing the busy Pickersleigh Road safer.

"I just can't find anyone who wants to do the job," said Mr Sides. "It's not just this school. Another school in Malvern has been without a lollipop man for six months."

The morning following Mr Pratty's enforced retirement, anxious parents tackled Mr Sides about the lack of facilities.

He said: "I had one mother in who was shaking. She was trying to cross the road with a pushchair and two toddlers and it was nearly impossible.

"Pickersleigh Road is one of the main arteries through Malvern and a lot of our parents and children have to cross it twice a day.

"The nearest crossing is a third of a mile away, down by the shops, and you have to cross Madresfield Road to reach it. In the other direction, you have to go up to Barnards Green to reach it.

"I don't want some child to be killed, so I'm going to push as hard as I can to get something done."