PARISH bosses are brainstorming ways to make a notorious Hampshire road safer for children walking to and from school.

Parents and pupils at Marchwood Infants held a protest march to demand a ban on lorries yesterday morning, as reported in later editions of the Daily Echo.

Young and old alike brandished banners and chanted "ban the lorries" from Hythe Road, which is used by people walking to the school in nearby Twiggs Lane.

Campaigners claim pedestrians are at risk from vehicles that mount the pavement to get past cars parked on the other side of the road.

Any major decisions to enforce any lorry bans would be made by Hampshire County Council.

However, members of Marchwood Parish Council have been proactive in their bid to help alleviate the escalating problem.

Chairman of the amenities committee, Ron Vango-Fisher, said: "The council has been aware of this problem for a very long time and we have taken a lot of steps to try to reduce the use of Main Road and Hythe Road."

He said the council had written to around ten companies, which operate out of Marchwood's industrial estate to request that they ask their drivers to use the A326 instead of cutting through the village.

"Generally the response has been quite good and there has been an improvement with several of the companies we have written to, but of course not all the lorries are coming from the industrial park," he said.

The issue will be discussed at a meeting involving representatives from the county council, New Forest District Council and the local parish council.