A WORRIED grandparent is calling for improvements to road safety outside a new £2m school, in Darlington.

John Robdrup claims the entrance to Firth Moor Primary School is a potential death trap for children.

Parents in cars collecting youngsters from the school, which opened last month, can park along Highmoor Road.

But Mr Robdrup said the number of vehicles outside the school gates is restricting drivers and children's views along the road.

"I sat outside the other afternoon waiting to pick my grandson up and saw a kid race straight out of the gates, between the cars and across the road," he said.

"A car driving past missed him by about a second. He didn't realise and neither did the driver. But there could have been a very nasty accident."

Mr Robdrup wants to see road markings outside the school entrance to prevent motorists from parking there.

"It's a death trap. Every afternoon there is an accident waiting to happen.

"The council has spent so much money on the school, but it has totally failed to consider this problem."

Mr Robdrup has the backing of headteacher Andrena Cabourn. "I would like to see the cars keep away from the gates so that the children's view is not restricted," she said.

"We do everything we can in school to highlight road safety awareness, but at the end of the day children are children."

She insisted that there should be markings outside the school to restrict parking.

"It seems to me they have got so much wasteland opposite that they could actually do something, even if it's temporary, to relieve the situation. They could widen the road."

A Darlington Borough Council spokeswoman said officers would visit the school this week to consider possible improvements.

"We are aware of the complaint and will visit at a busy time to assess the situation."