NEW advisory 20mph signs have been installed near three Middlewich schools as part of a Cheshire East Council scheme.

Drivers will now be asked to drive slower on stretches of St Ann’s Road and Long Lane near Middlewich High School, Middlewich Primary School and St Mary’s Catholic School, with areas outside Cledford Primary to follow next year.

The installation of the flashing signs is part of a three-year, £1 million scheme to make all schools in the borough safer, with Middlewich prioritised in year one.

Middlewich High School headteacher Keith Simpson said: “I am delighted that Cheshire East Council has recognised the need to reduce the speed in the local area. Anything that improves the safety of our students within the local community has to be beneficial.

“I look forward to a position where our students arriving at and leaving the site are not going to be faced with speeding drivers.”

The three street signs have been installed at an estimated cost of £12,000, as part of a scheme confirmed last November following a National Highways and Transport survey.

Middlewich First Cllr Mike Parsons, ward member for Cheshire East Council, said: “There are new government guidelines to put 20mph limits outside schools in the area.

"It is optional, but Cheshire East Council took it upon itself to say it will cover all schools in the borough. Middlewich First Cheshire East Council councillors lobbied for Middlewich to be done in the first year and it was granted.”

Cllr David Brown, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, said: “Cheshire East Council is fully committed to improving road safety around our schools.”

Evidence shows that a pedestrian hit by a vehicle at 20mph has a 97 per cent chance of survival compared to just 50 per cent at 30mph. Unlike Cheshire West and Chester Council’s four year, £800,000 scheme, Cheshire East Council’s 20mph zones are not mandatory.