Penistone Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) has been working in partnership with Barnardos Voices...for Children, Young People and Families and pupils from Oxspring Primary School, Sheffield Road to highlight the issue of speeding motorists in the area and promote the message that speeding is putting the children’s lives at risk.

Barnardo’s Voices’ primary focus is to promote and sustain a culture of participation, voice and influence for children and young people aged 0 – 13, to enable them to have a voice and be able to influence change.

They are working across Barnsley with schools and organisations to identify issues for children and young people in their local area. A total of 80 workshops are being delivered, with over 600 children and young people participating in these workshops so far. One of which was about road safety and was carried out with the assistance of Penistone SNT.

On Wednesday 27 January, 129 vehicles were checked in an hour using the SNT’s own handheld speed gun and 38 were found to be exceeding the 30mph limit increasing danger on the already busy road.

30 children from the school were asked to drive the message that speeding puts lives at risk by asking them to participate in the operation and hand out speed awareness leaflets to drivers who were caught driving in excess of 30mph.

 PCSO Andrew Thompson said, “It is disappointing to find that over a quarter of people tested were over the limit. These drivers need to realise the peril of their actions, in particular outside of a school with such young pupils. I hope this operation has educated not only drivers but also the children who now understand the possible dangers of the roads and how to avoid them. We will be monitoring drivers throughout the area, in particular those on Sheffield Road.”

One pupil commented, “It felt really good being able to tell adults how dangerous and scary it is for us when cars drive too fast on the road outside school where we have to cross.”