Lollipop man, 86, to celebrate retirement with ‘mad week in Benidorm’

Speaking about his decision to hang up his lollipop, he said: “It’s a busy road and I think I’m getting on a bit over the hill now.”

Mr Parker, who is originally from Workington, Cumbria, told BBC Radio Lancashire: “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. It keeps me active.”

He said: “If I can send them [the pupils] into school with a nice smile on their face, I think I’ve done a good job.”

Mr Parker said he was originally a caretaker at the school but when the last lollipop person left, he took over.

He said former pupils who he used to assist in crossing the road were now grown up, and bringing their own children to the school.

One parent said: “[Mr Parker] is the first person they see and he gears them up for the day.

“There’s going to be a lot of sad faces when he goes,” she said.