PARENTS are being urged by anxious school chiefs to use Malmesbury’s recently unveiled free car park to drop off and pick-up their children to prevent a tragedy occurring.

Safety issues involving pupils going to and from Malmesbury Primary School have worried staff for years but they say the situation is deteriorating with parents haphazardly parking and then pulling out.

Last week the school’s business manager Tina Osbourne became so concerned that she sent parents an email highlighting her fears which were also reinforced by Malmesbury Police which issued a plea on its Facebook site.

Both police and the school, where there are 420 pupils aged between four and 11, now say there is no excuse for parents to drive to the school off Tetbury Hill as they could park for free at nearby Station Yard car park.

Mrs Osbourne said: “Parents are driving to Poole Road and parking in residents’ spaces, on the pavement, on corners and also driving really fast. It beggars belief.

“I went out to take a look at what was happening last Thursday and was really horrified.”

Mrs Osbourne said the pedestrian routes to and from the school were often crowded with parents, pupils and their younger brothers and sisters and it wasn’t unusual to see a youngster step into the road.

“You can hardly expect the younger siblings to have any awareness of road safety.”

She said that as a result of what she witnessed she emailed parents urging them to park five minutes’ walk away at Station Yard, where two-hour free parking became available during the summer.

She said: “There has never really been a solution to this until now. Free Parking means parents really don’t have to park this near. We now have a viable solution.”

She said there was no excuse now to park in Poole Road, where most parents dropped off their children. “We really need to get this across to parents – we don’t to wait until something tragic happens.”

Malmesbury Police Facebook site says: “This issue has been a problem for quite some time but is getting worse.

“The school regularly put reminders in their newsletter and also staff patrol the area from time to time.

“The estate is the main pedestrian route into school and the pavement is often not wide enough for the number of pedestrians, particularly where pushchairs and scooters are being used, causing people to have to step into the road at some points.

“Please can parents make use of the two hours free parking which is now available at Station Yard car park which is only a five minute walk.”

One Poole Road resident Chris Watts responded: “I worry for the safety of my young family during the busy periods. Also, it can mean we have to wait for people who have blocked us in to return to their cars before we can leave.

“A quiet word with some parents has resulted in a torrent of abuse. Not nice. We shouldn't have to put up with this. Will it take an accident before people decide not to park on Poole Road?”