Protest held on £395,000 cuts to lollipop patrols across Dudley earning '£10-a-day'
Campaigners fighting controversial cuts to the school crossing warden service in a bid to save £395,000 a year have been served up a 'mishmash' of figures, it has been claimed.
Placard-wielding lollipop wardens demonstrated their anger outside Dudley Council House ahead of a scrutiny committee meeting looking into the proposals to withdraw funding for the service.
But during a heated debate it emerged that officers could not agree on the number of jobs and crossings affected. After a warden told the meeting he earned just £10 a day, councillors complained that the sums did not add up.
Scrutiny chairman Councillor Alan Finch described officers' response to questions as 'poor' and requested a breakdown of the figures.
A consultation into the axing of the service was launched last month and an extension granted when opponents argued they had not been given long enough to put their case. A petition containing almost 9,000 signatures to save the wardens was handed to the council last week.
Tuesday's meeting heard there were 81 school sites, 63 wardens and a further 14 standby wardens involved in the service but it was pointed out the figures differed to those given to the last meeting.
Councillor Karen Shakespeare claimed the risks to children's safety would not be so great if the 20mph speed limit around schools was implemented during arrival and home times only, instead of a blanket restriction which drivers ignored.
