'No more lorries, keep us safe' was the chant from children at a village primary school plagued by lorries squeezing along the narrow road they have to use.

Parents and pupils from Yoxall Primary School, near Burton, left the classroom after school today, Wednesday, September 27, to stage a protest. They gather outside their school close to a narrow bend on the A515 regularly used by HGVs as a short cut from the A38 to the A50.

A peaceful protest at St Peter's School in Yoxall, where pupils, parents and governors are asking for the weight limit to be reduced to 7.5T.
A peaceful protest at St Peter's School in Yoxall, where pupils, parents and governors are asking for the weight limit to be reduced to 7.5T.

The protest was held to highlight to the highways authority Staffordshire County Council their fears over situation, after many near-misses for pedestrians as lorries mount the kerbs in order to squeeze past other vehicles the road is so tight.

It came after the county council announced plans to provide new signs to advise HGV drivers that the route is unsuitable for them, even though there is no weight restriction currently on the route. There is also set to be engineering improvements and an investigation into restricting HGV movements onto the A515, including from the A513.

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However, the county council has said it would only implement a weight limit on the road in the long-term, which has sparked anger among residents, including campaigners, Yoxall Traffic Action Group, who want an immediate solution.

A peaceful protest at St Peter's School in Yoxall, where pupils, parents and governors are asking for the weight limit to be reduced to 7.5T.
A peaceful protest at St Peter's School in Yoxall, where pupils, parents and governors are asking for the weight limit to be reduced to 7.5T.

Today the Burton Mail spoke to protesters outside the school, including head teacher Stuart Draper, a school governor Jamie Waterall and parent Alexandra Toddington.

She told how she had been forced to throw her five-year-old son, Harrison, over the church wall to escape a lorry which had mounted the pavement to squeeze past another vehicle on the tight bend.

Mrs Toddington said: "We were walking from the school towards the lollipop lady. The pavement is very narrow and there is only room for one person but the lorries are mounting the kerb. I had to throw Harrison over the wall on to the grass as this lorry came towards us.

"We were in shock and the lollipop lady was asking us if we were okay. Harrison wasn’t injured but this sort of thing happens a lot."

A peaceful protest at St Peter's School in Yoxall, where pupils, parents and governors are asking for the weight limit to be reduced to 7.5T.
A peaceful protest at St Peter's School in Yoxall, where pupils, parents and governors are asking for the weight limit to be reduced to 7.5T.

Shocking footage has previously been released of lorries mounting the pavements to squeeze past vehicles; all making for fears for the safety of youngsters from the primary school.
Head teacher Stuart Draper said: "The children are exercising their democratic right to protest. The lorries come down at an enormous rate and often mount the pavement and it is a concern to us.

"The protest has been successful. There is a good turn-out. I have seen a few lorries looking at little worried.

"The safety of our children is absolute paramount. It is quite a concern. If there was a way of limiting the size of the vehicle it is something we would like."

A peaceful protest at St Peter's School in Yoxall, where pupils, parents and governors are asking for the weight limit to be reduced to 7.5T.
A peaceful protest at St Peter's School in Yoxall, where pupils, parents and governors are asking for the weight limit to be reduced to 7.5T.

School governor Jamie Waterall, 44, who has two children at the school, also joined the protest. He said: "It is really important that we try to make this road safer. One day one child will have a fatality or a serious injury. As a community we have had enough. We want the council to do something about this. It is not difficult. We have a perfect route - the A38, lorries don’t need to come through our village

A peaceful protest at St Peter's School in Yoxall, where pupils, parents and governors are asking for the weight limit to be reduced to 7.5T.
Jamie Waterall - Governor
Jamie Waterall - Governor

"The lorries get stuck [on the tight bend near the school]. This road was built hundreds of years ago; it is not made for lorries."

Amy Summers, 44, who has three young children who attend the school. She said: "We are here because we want to see the county council apply a weight limit.

"The problem is this road is no longer suitable for the amount and type of traffic using it. When this village grew and the road was created it was designed for horses and carts not 40-tonne vehicles which are now using it in their hundreds.

"We have about 800 HGVs day and night, causing misery to residents.

A peaceful protest at St Peter's School in Yoxall, where pupils, parents and governors are asking for the weight limit to be reduced to 7.5T.
Amy Summers
Amy Summers

"They are using it as a short-cut instead of using the A38 and the A50.

"If a 7.5-tonne weight limit was applied then vehicles will no longer use the road and we will be able to walk along our own pavements without fear of having to share them with an oncoming HGVs.

"We are holding the protest here at school time. I have three small children and you can see the chaos by lorries using this road.

"We have had numerous incidents of people being brushed by lorries having to stop and give way to traffic when lorries are passing. The church wall has been knocked down three times. It is miracle no-one has been killed."

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Despite the plea made by the action group for a weight limit to be introduced on their section of the road, council bosses said they will not be implementing this in the near future because the route is 'priority route'. This means if there were to be diversions on the A50 or the A38, the A515 would have to be used by diverted traffic, including lorries.

The implementation of a weight limit would require the reclassification of the A515 to remove its status as a principle route.

A report from the council last May admitted that enforcing a weight restriction would be difficult. It said: "The enforcement of a weight restriction is difficult. This would be the responsibility of Staffordshire police.

"Personal accident injury analysis shows there is no disproportionate number of road accidents involving HGVs along the A515. Any weight restriction would have to be suspended during these times of emergencies and planned works to the trunk road network."

Staffordshire County Council's cabinet member responsible for highways and transport Councillor Mark Deaville has said a weight limit could be implemented in the long-term.