Children from 30 schools across Buckinghamshire have been given the green light to start training to be Junior Road Safety Officers (JRSOs).

The special role will see pupils become school champions for road safety and sustainable travel in primary schools across the county.

They will be responsible for promoting school travel initiatives and encouraging pupils to travel safely and sustainably.

The aim is to reduce congestion and improve safety on the school journey.

For the training, the children were given the opportunity to participate in three workshops from a range of subjects including road safety, school parking, school initiatives and public speaking and heard talks from Thames Valley Police and Fire and Rescue.

The children also had the opportunity to sit in a truck and experience what a real lorry driver would see.

School pupil Alex said: “Busy parking near our school means that sometimes people are late for school and parents are late for work!

"It can also be dangerous because of the parking.”

As well as meeting frontline service staff, the children were also greeted by road safety mascot ALLF (Always Look and Listen First), deputy leader and cabinet member for transportation, Mark Shaw, and deputy transport cabinet member Paul Irwin.

Mark said: “The JRSOs really do make a difference at their schools. Promoting safe and sustainable travel helps not only their fellow pupils at the school, but residents surrounding areas as well.”

Paul added: “Every day we get complaints about traffic and parking. The children here are great because they are actively doing something about it. School children and parents of those school children should be inspired to follow in the footsteps of today’s JRSOs and make a difference.”