Parents slam ‘dangerous’ colourful road markings outside school ‘that look like Twister’

PARENTS have slammed colourful but "dangerous" road markings outside schools "that look like Twister".

The new markings made of shapes including triangles, circles and different designs are outside two schools in Frome in Somerset.

Frome Town Council used a £350,000 grant from the Department for Transport to introduce several new measures.

The colours and shapes are designed to slow drivers down.

They were installed by the town council and designed to make it safer near Oakfield Academy and Critchill School.

But some mums and dads say they are confusing, especially for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

One said: ''I think they are very confusing and dangerous. None of those shapes are in the Highway Code. It's like a playground."

''They feel that they can jump in the spots, my daughter thought it looked like Twister in the road."

Parent Craig Adams has an eight-year-old son who attends Critchill School, which teaches children with additional needs.

He told ITV Westcountry: "They're round dots, they mirror a lot of the things in the playground. That can be very difficult for him to understand."

Frome Town Council says it contracted a company called Sustrans to design and carry out the work.

Cllr Anita Collier, from Frome Town Council, said: "We want desperately to have that feedback. These things can be changed.

"Sustrans have actually made changes to their designs throughout the country. We know that that's possible.''

A spokesperson for Sustrans said: "Colourful street markings are a common proposal in school street designs.

"They alert drivers to the fact that there may be people around the street and, as part of a larger package of traffic calming measures, encourage them to slow down.

"The street markings around Frome safer school streets were created through a collaborative co-design process with the community including pupils from the local schools. Residents from the local streets helped to choose the designs."