A Stevenage mum has started a petition to make the road outside her children’s school a one-way system, following several “worrying” near misses.

While on the school run, Coleen Houlihan had to drag her three-year-old child out the way of a moving car which had mounted the pavement outside Fairlands Primary School.

This has led Coleen to start a petition - which has already had more than 100 signatures - to have the road changed and made safer.

The mum-of-four told the Comet: "The issue we have is the cars are always parked down one side and it's only one car wide and then when you reach the corner you can't see around it and you then are face to face with another car.

"At school run time you can't reverse to let the other car through, because there will sometimes be another six cars behind you in each direction, causing gridlock. To get round, they drive up on to the pavement on the side of the road where the school is - where the people are.

"Because they're looking at the cars and not paying attention to the pavement, they don't realise they're almost hitting children and parents!"

Coleen said one of her children was almost hit by a car due to this.

"I had to grab him by his collar and drag him out of the way of the car", she said.

"The woman driving had no idea it was even happening, he was only three at the time and she couldn't even see him over her bonnet. She would have driven straight into him.

"I have four children and I'm always trying to keep an eye on all four of them - my eldest is visually impaired and can't see moving traffic, so it's a real worry."

Fairlands Primary School headteacher Robert Staples told the Comet: "Since we expanded in 2012, Fairlands has become a popular choice for parents and we now have approaching 700 children in the school.

"We are very fortunate to have two large car parks for parents and one for staff, which helps a lot. The governing body is aware of the congestion on Pound Avenue, and has worked with Stevenage Borough Council who have recently increased the presence of traffic officers.

"We continue to frequently remind parents and carers to drive cautiously, and not to park on zig-zag lines, thereby greatly reducing the risk to children."

To support Coleen's petition, go to change.org/p/joshua-bennett-lovell-changing-the-road-outside-fairlands-primary-to-a-one-way-system.