A PARTNERSHIP approach can help make an impact on parking problems at schools in the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area.

Each school in the district has experienced situations with parents dropping off their children for the school day but some in an inconsiderate way.

In Cardenden the village community council devised a scheme where pop-up signs were purchased to be shared by the St Ninian's, Denend and Cardenden Primary Schools, to get the message across that considerate parking helps safety around schools.

Now Central Fife Crime Prevention and Community Safety Panel is to look at entering into a partnership with local schools to ensure the pop up signs are available at each school.

Panel vice chair, David Roy, told the panel on Wednesday that the signs had been well received by the pupils of the Cardenden schools and he wondered if it was was something that could be spread throughout the area.

Said David: "The community council sponsored the signs and in a short space of time they have had quite an impact.

"These catch people's eyes with messages about safe parking and clearly persuade some people to be more careful.

"I wonder if it would be possible for the panel to look at purchasing signs that we could lend out periodically to all the schools in our area."

PC Gary Chrystal said that the signs were striking and he felt that the Cowdenbeath Community Police team could engage with the 16 primary schools in the area to see what sort of arrangement could be made.

Panel chairman, Colin Bird, said that these signs could be a key safety mechanism at local schools and if the panel was able to buy, say three pop ups, these could be shared by the schools.

Colin also pointed out that the panel had been fortunate to get a recent grant from the 4WindsTrust of £3,000 and it was felt by the membership that this was the sort of community project the funding was geared to help.

The panel agreed to work with the Community Police Team and the area's 16 schools to find out how the plan could work with the idea being to purchase three pop ups.