YOUNGSTERS from Piddle Valley First School have been urging drivers to slow down.

Children from the Piddletren-thide school carried placards bearing the important road safety message as they walked to school in support of Road Safety Week.

Parents and local PCSO Vickie Hedges joined the youngsters as they stepped out along the busy B3143 on their way to school wearing high-visibility vests.

Event organiser Claire Hudson said: “I am delighted that so many families joined our walk to school in aid of Road Safety Week. It was a thoroughly enjoyable event and many of the children said they would like to do it again. “I organised the event as I wanted to highlight the importance of developing an awareness of road safety, to enable the children to interact with their local environment and to get drivers to slow down.”

The children were presented with stickers from PCSO Hedges when they arrived at school as a reward for their support of the Road Safety Week campaign.

Headteacher Tracey Jones said: “It was fantastic to see so many children walking to school. They all looked so happy and it is a great way to start teaching children about the importance of road safety.”

The Road Safety Week campaign is run by the charity Brake, which aims to reduce death and injuries on roads and cares for families with someone seriously injured or who are bereaved.

The charity has warned that in rural areas like Piddletrenthide the Road Safety Week message is more important than ever.

A Brake spokesman said: “Some drivers believe rural roads are safer places to drive but they are wrong. More than half of all UK fatal crashes occur on rural roads.

“Statistics show that, per miles travelled, rural roads are the most dangerous places for all kinds of road user.”

For more about Road Safety Week visit www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk