Safety fears over high fives call time on lollipop man

For the past decade, John Hunter has not only steered the pupils of Corstorphine Primary School in Edinburgh safely across the road but also endeared himself to the children by offering them birthday sweets and high-five greetings.

Yet while those personal touches have made the lollipop man popular in the playground, they have had the opposite effect with the local council, which has told him that his friendly gestures are out of order.

After being told he was posing a threat to health and safety, Mr Hunter is starting retirement early, to the dismay of pupils and many parents. It is understood that one parent complained to the school after Mr Hunter inadvertently gave a child chocolate containing nuts, to which they were allergic. There are thought to have also been complaints about the high fives, which the children lined up to receive. Apparently parents were concerned their offspring were too busy slapping hands with Mr Hunter to concentrate on crossing the road.


Photo from here.

Mr Hunter, 69, was himself a pupil at the school in the leafy suburb of the Scottish capital and took up his post as its lollipop man after retiring from Edinburgh City Council’s roads department.

This is the first complaint I’ve ever had in 37 years. Now suddenly I’m a danger to these children,” he said.

“They said it’s health and safety, but I can’t see if it’s the children’s safety or mine. I’ve built up a strong relationship with them over the years, and I’m going to miss them a lot. I was thinking about retiring anyway, so I’ve handed in my resignation. But it’s a rotten way to go. The children have made me promise to come back and tell them jokes.”