PARENT Justin Oliver says that he is prepared to take action himself if road safety outside his son's school in Calne does not improve.

Mr Oliver, of Corfe Crescent, Calne, whose son Luke attends Fynamore Primary, has the support of more than 120 parents who are petitioning Wiltshire County Council to take action to protect their children from traffic at the school gates.

Mr Oliver said if the pleas were ignored he would have no option but to take on the voluntary post of crossing patrol.

"There are near misses outside the school gates every day," he said.

"The main road near the school, the Calne bypass, is becoming busier because people are avoiding the road works in the town centre. Something needs to be done to make it a safer area.

"Two weeks ago, a mother and boy were walking across the road and a van missed them by inches.

"If need be I will volunteer to take on the school crossing patrol in the short term."

Mr Oliver is one of many parents who refuse to let their children travel to school alone. He fears that the next incident will result in a tragedy.

"It isn't good. Something needs to be done and done quickly before we do have a serious accident on our hands. There are lives at risk," said Mr Oliver.

The school opened in September last year. It was paid for by housing developer Persimmon Homes.

Mr Oliver said many more parents were using cars to deliver and collect their children because families lived outside the primary school's catchment area.

"There are crossings around the new parts of the housing development, but not in the area of the school," he said.

"There appears to be a number of simple solutions one is to have a crossing near the school."

He has brought the matter to the attention of Wiltshire County Council's highways department and was expecting to meet an area road safety officer outside the school this week.

The parents want a safe crossing near to the school and possible speed restrictions of 20mph.

Mr Oliver is chairman of the Friends of Fynamore School but says he is acting in his role as a concerned parent.

"I and my son Luke have experienced near misses on our way to school. Lots of parents have been talking about the problems and it is about time people power made the county council move into action," said Mr Oliver.

The petition will be handed to Wiltshire Council.