THERE are high hopes that pop-up school traffic signs can be a strong way to ensure road safety near local schools can be increased.

Central Fife Crime Prevention Panel's annual general meeting heard that their initiative to buy signs for schools to use had made a good start.

Chairman Colin Bird said that the investment by the Panel was launched at Cowdenbeath Primary School and it had seen the children using the signs to ensure that drivers did not park carelessly in Broad Street.

Member of the Cowdenbeath Community Police team, Gary Chrystal, said: "The kids really took ownership of the initiative and staff reported that there was a clear effort by drivers to slow down when passing the school and also watching how they parked."

The Panel's move to purchase the pop-up signs followed an initiative by Cardenden Community Council which saw them buy three pop-ups for use by Denend, Cardenden and St Ninians Primary schools.

Councillor Rosemary Liewald told the meeting: "The signs were first used at St Ninians and these made an instant impact and I think the Panel has been right to try to promote this idea amongst the local primary schools.

"The problems that can be seen on a daily basis at schools are really something that need to be sorted out and the pop-ups clearly help."

The Panel's signs are to be available for use by all the 16 primary schools that come under its jurisdiction.

Gary Chrystal added: "In the run-up to the summer school holidays the signs will be in Kelty for use at the village Primary School, in Main Street, and St Joseph's in Cocklaw Street.

"Hopefully these will have an impact in Kelty and the pupils will be able to use them to get the road safety at schools message across."