Latest news with #highfive
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Council bans lollipop man from high-fiving children as they cross the road because of health and safety concerns and claims it 'slows down traffic'
A much-loved lollipop man has been banned from high-fiving schoolchildren as they cross the road – because council officials claim it causes traffic delays and poses a health and safety risk. Neil Cotton, 57, has spent the last two years brightening up the school run in the East Yorkshire town of Howden with his cheerful attitude and signature high fives. But the school crossing patrol officer has now been told by East Riding of Yorkshire Council to stop the friendly gesture at once – because it's seen as a 'distraction' and could make children forget how to cross the road safely. The stunned lollipop man took to social media to share the bizarre order, telling parents and supporters: 'I have been instructed that I can no longer high-five children any more whilst crossing the road. 'This is because it upsets some drivers having to wait another 10 seconds.' The junction, locally known as Cross Keys Corner, sees children from infant, junior and secondary schools cross the road daily and for many, Neil's high fives have become a happy part of the morning routine. But now council killjoys have stepped in, saying children should be focused 'without any distractions'. The post, which has since been removed, sparked outrage from local parents with many branding the decision 'absurd' and 'ridiculous'. Mother-of-one Kirsty Wilcox told BBC Look North: 'I think it's wrong. Why shouldn't he, what's wrong with it? 'It puts a smile on the kids' faces. My son does it all the time. But now he gets upset because he's not allowed to do it.' Fellow parent Theresa Holt said: 'It's silly. It takes literally seconds and it gives that child that little bit of happiness. He's great with my little boy and he sees him as a friendly face.' Even drivers weighed in on the row – with many defending Mr Cotton and blasting the council's 'over-the-top' approach. Tony Brooke said: 'It's absurd. Just to high five to them, I don't see there's a problem with that. 'He's going to hold the traffic up to let the kids across so I wouldn't have thought it would add any more time to people's journeys at all. It's crazy.' Another motorist, Michael Dalton, added: 'I think it's a bit OTT to be honest. It's a bit PC [political correctness] going crazy again. As a driver, we need to be a bit more courteous, certainly at school times.' In a statement, East Riding of Yorkshire Council said: 'It is vitally important that children learn to cross the road safely, concentrating without any distractions, walking carefully and being vigilant of the traffic. 'In this particular case, one of our officers spoke with this crossing patrol and simply reminded them of the need not to have distractions while children are crossing. 'However, we are confident they will continue doing a fantastic job and they are much appreciated.' Mr Cotton also revealed he has been told not to help guide larger vehicles around the junction because of fears the council could face legal action if there was an accident.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Council bans lollipop man from high-fiving children as they cross road
A lollipop man has been ordered to stop giving high fives to school children because of health and safety concerns. For the past two years, Neil Cotton, 57, has sought to brighten the children's day with a high five as they crossed the road in Howden, East Yorkshire. But the school crossing patrol officer has now been told by the council that the gesture is a 'distraction' to children learning to cross the road safely. Mr Cotton said the high fives were also deemed to be upsetting some drivers by slowing down traffic at the junction known as Cross Keys Corner. In a social media post, he said: 'I have been instructed that I can no longer high-five children any more whilst crossing the road. This is because it upsets some drivers having to wait another 10 seconds.' East Riding of Yorkshire Council said one of its officers had spoken to the crossing patrol to say it was 'vitally important' that children learned to cross the road safely without any distractions. Mr Cotton also claimed he had been 'instructed to no longer guide the larger vehicles round Cross Keys Corner to eliminate the chances of legal action if there were to be an accident'. 'Absolutely ridiculous' The council clampdown drew ire on social media from parents who rely on the crossing patrol to keep their children safe. Niccie Downes responded to Mr Cotton's now deleted social media post by thanking him for doing 'an amazing job', calling the decision 'absolutely ridiculous'. She added: 'Finn thinks it's great when you high-five him in passing, which I'm sure all the others do, and as for guiding the lorries you're doing that for safety purposes as that corner is dangerous'. Another parent, Kirsty Wilcox, told BBC Look North: 'I think it's wrong. Why shouldn't he, what's wrong with it? It puts a smile on the kids' faces. My son does it all the time. But now he gets upset because he's not allowed to do it.' Theresa Holt said Mr Cotton's greeting gave children like hers a 'little bit of happiness'. She added: 'He's great with my little boy and he sees him as a friendly face.' A spokesman for East Riding of Yorkshire Council said: 'We value all our school crossing patrols, they are pillars of the community, and do a very important job – meeting and greeting children, parents and pedestrians and helping to keep them safe while crossing the road. 'It is vitally important that children learn to cross the road safely, concentrating without any distractions, walking carefully and being vigilant of the traffic. 'In this particular case, one of our officers spoke with this crossing patrol and simply reminded them of the need not to have distractions while children are crossing. However, we are confident they will continue doing a fantastic job and they are much appreciated.'
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Howden lollipop man told to stop giving kids high-fives
A lollipop man said he had been told he could no longer high-five children while they are crossing the road because it slows down traffic. Neil Cotton, 57, has been working as a school crossing patrol officer in Howden, East Yorkshire for about two years. In a social media post, he said he could not high-five the children anymore, because "it upsets some drivers having to wait another 10 seconds". East Riding of Yorkshire Council said it was vitally important children learned to cross the road safely, without any distractions. Mr Cotton helps children from the infant, junior and secondary schools in Howden to cross the junction known locally as Cross Keys Corner. His social media post received more than 100 comments before it was taken down. On the school run, Kirsty Wilcox, told BBC Look North: "I think it's wrong. Why shouldn't he, what's wrong with it? "It puts a smile on the kids' faces. My son does it all the time. But now he gets upset because he's not allowed to do it." Another parent, Theresa Holt, said: "It's silly. It takes literally seconds and it gives that child that little bit of happiness. He's great with my little boy and he sees him as a friendly face." 'It's absurd' Driver Tony Brooke described the move as "rules gone mad". "It's absurd. Just to high five to them, I don't see there's a problem with that," he said. "He's going to hold the traffic up to let the kids across so I wouldn't have thought it would add any more time to people's journeys at all. It's crazy."Another driver, Michael Dalton, added: "I think it's a bit OTT to be honest. It's a bit PC [political correctness] going crazy again. As a driver, we need to be a bit more courteous, certainly at school times."East Riding of Yorkshire Council said: "It is vitally important that children learn to cross the road safely, concentrating without any distractions, walking carefully and being vigilant of the traffic."In this particular case, one of our officers spoke with this crossing patrol and simply reminded them of the need not to have distractions while children are crossing."However, we are confident they will continue doing a fantastic job and they are much appreciated."Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Wiggles star issues apology to furious fan after devastating act on live tour
Wiggles star Lucia Field has apologised to the mother of a one-year-old fan, after her toddler failed to receive a high five during a live show. The furious mum, Amy, shared a video to TikTok on Monday which showed her tot being overlooked by the entertainers as he attempted to reach out to them 'six' times. To make matter worse, Amy revealed she and her son had been seated directly behind Red Wiggle Simon Pryce's son Asher, who received plenty of attention. Amy posted a compilation of her son's six attempts to get the attention of The Wiggles as they roamed the audience to meet fans throughout the performance. 'POV: You were sat behind Simon Wiggles' family at The Wiggles show,' the frustrated mother captioned her video. 'Watch how many attempts it took my toddler to get a high five.' The clip shows her one-year-old holding his arm up in anticipation of a high five on six separate occasions. However, The Wiggles performers each made a point of singling out Simon's four-year-old son for high fives, hugs, and hellos. Yellow Wiggle Evie Ferris, Blue Wiggle Lucia, and Red Wiggle Caterina Mete are all shown stopping by Simon's wife Lauren Hannaford and his son throughout the show. Simon, 53, and Lauren welcomed their son Asher in 2021. After Amy's son tried and failed to get their attention for the third time, he is shown pouting and still holding his arm outstretched as the performers walked away. Amy filmed the tender moment shared between Simon and Asher, as Simon enveloped his son in a hug and patted him on the back. He made direct eye contact with Amy during the interaction, while her toddler waved excitedly from his seat directly behind them, to no avail. Simon then returned a second time to pat his son's shoulder and involve him in the show, and Amy filmed her son still waving and saying 'bye' as Simon walked away. 'Attempt 5. Not going to lie, this one stung a bit,' Amy wrote over the clip. Yellow Wiggle Tsehay Hawkins was lucky number six and after sharing a quick hello and high five with Asher, the 19-year-old star immediately saw the sad toddler and gave him her attention. He was then seen bouncing and clapping along on his mum's lap. 'Thank you Tsehay, you saved the day,' Amy wrote in her caption, tagging each of The Wiggles. Her video has received more than 35,000 likes since it was posted two days ago. Lucia, who is the daughter of original Wiggle Anthony Field, rushed to the comments to offer her apologies. The 21-year-old wrote: 'I'm so so sorry! It's always been so chaotic when we run into the audience. 'I always try to wave to everybody, I'm so so sorry I missed your little one.' 'You didn't even see him Lucia, it's not your fault,' Amy wrote back. 'He was falling off my lap as you came up from waving so frantically at you. But thank you so so much for your message. It means the world.' Some parents were sympathetic to The Wiggles in the comments and noted it would be impossible to say hello to every child in the audience. But many pointed out a toddler would not understand the boy sitting in front of him was Simon's son and would think he was simply being ignored. 'Actually think that's incredibly rude of them to give so much attention to child in front and not give a little smile, hi5, quick hello to yours, who was literally right next to them. I get they can't do everyone, but a wave around the area doesn't take much,' one wrote. 'I agree,' Amy replied with a love heart emoji. 'That was really sad to watch,' another mum wrote. 'I get that's his son, but surely as child entertainers they should realise that other little babies can't comprehend why one kid is getting special attention from them all.' 'It's having the blinders on to not even notice another child right behind him desperately trying to get their attention with his arms out to wave,' Amy added in further comments, clarifying she is 'especially' upset with Simon. In 2021, the Wiggles sought to increase diversity in the group by adding four additional supporting members to the group. Shortly after this change, Emma Watkins left the group and Tsehay and Evie jointly took on the yellow skivvy. The group has just concluded the first Australian leg of 'Bouncing Balls' live tour in Adelaide. The tour will continue with dates in Darwin and Perth before it travels across the UK, USA, and Canada.
