A FORMER Fairfield and Howley councillor is continuing to press the council over its school crossing patrol budget.

Kevin Bennett raised the issue at last Monday's full council meeting during the section where members of the public got to put forward their questions.

He asked Cllr Hans Mundry, executive member for highways, transportation and public realm, what measures have been taken to 'ensure the school crossing patrol service continues'.

"The safety of our children is paramount and the likelihood of volunteers and schools filling the void is very slim, as the council could not find even one volunteer or school to help when Fairfield and Howley were without one of their lollipop people on two separate occasions since October 2015," he added.

"Where will the future funding come from? Will this council commit to carrying on with the funding of this service?"

Cllr Mundry responded to Mr Bennett and highlighted the ongoing difficulties for the authority following cuts from the Government.

He said: "A saving was put in the budget – it was looked at and is still being looked at.

"We are trying to find new ways to fund the service – we want to keep it running.

"The safety of our children is very important. The truth is that we are trying to find different ways of funding the service, not to cut the service.

"We are looking at measures to make savings. At the present time the council is committed to providing the service."