Stay seen and safe (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)
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Stay seen and safe
12:00am Sunday 27th January 2013 in News
Pupils from Chippenham’s Queens Cresent school with firefighters
Walking to school has become safer for primary school children across Wiltshire thanks to a donation of flashing and reflective armbands.
The armbands were given out free this week to make kids more visible on dark mornings and evenings.
The campaign is part of a drive by Wiltshire Council, Wiltshire Police, Wiltshire Fire & Rescue and NHS Wiltshire to make county roads safer.
Wiltshire Council corporate director Maggie Rae said: “It is vital we do everything we can to ensure our children are safe when they travel to school.”
They were given to pupils in years five and six at Queens Crescent School in Chippenham, Aloeric School in Melksham, Studley Green Primary School in Trowbridge, Pewsey Primary School and Salisbury’s St Martin’s Primary.
Julia Hawkins, headteacher of Queen’s Crescent Primary School in Chippenham, said: “We do encourage our children to be healthy by walking in but, at the same time, safety is paramount. We are very excited about this initiative promoting the importance of being seen on these dark mornings.”
Any remaining armbands will be distributed around other primary schools and be made available to dog walkers, cyclists and runners from fire stations across Wiltshire.
Armbands can be collected from various fire stations between 7-9pm on Monday.
On Wednesdays, the bands can be collected from Devizes fire station from 6.30-8.30pm and Corsham and Ludgershall from 7-9pm.
