Residents posting on Facebook commented on the dangers now posed by inconsiderate parking, with one criticising “lazy” parents who live in Reepham and brought their car to do the school run, parking on the children’s play area on Sun Barn Road.
 
“I have witnessed cars driving up from the bottom to the top [of the play area] even when children are playing there,” he said. “They have damaged the area, making it unsafe to play on, causing trip hazards where their wheels have dug into the grass.”
 
Another local resident, Simon, Nelson, who has been in touch with the town and county councils, the police and the local MP about the safety issue, said: “The town council has been most helpful but their hands are tied to an extent.
 
“All that can be done currently is to report any awful parking/near misses to the school as we are collecting as much evidence of irresponsible driving/parking to highlight the issues.
 
“I’m still working on getting all relevant parties to meet and witness the schooltime ‘carnage’.”
 
Meanwhile, Reepham Town Council is lobbying Norfolk Highways to reinstate the crossing patrol person outside the primary school and/or install a zebra crossing.
 
Town council clerk Kirsty Cotgrove confirmed that she had received more than a dozen complaints in recent weeks concerning road safety outside the school.
 
The traffic issue is likely to get worse with the relocation of the nursery school to the primary school as well as the recent planning approval for 141 residential homes on nearby Broomhill Lane, which is expected to increase traffic on School Road in the longer term.
 
Stuart Beadle, district councillor for Reepham, said an improved crossing outside the primary school was part of the planning application for the housing development.