A PARENT governor of Woolmer Hill is calling for urgent action to safeguard pupils at the 600-strong Haslemere school.

Lorraine Wilson is demanding that a pedestrian crossing is installed immediately, as well as a 20 mph speed limit, plus other safety measures to stop flooding outside the school gates.

"The school needs a crossing before an accident occurs," said Mrs Wilson in her letter to Surrey County Council.

"The students are at a very vulnerable period of their life and we should make ever effort to keep them safe," she said.

Her demands, which are supported by the head of the school, Sue Bullen, also includes rectifying an ongoing storm-water drainage problem outside the pedestrian entrance to the school.

"Every time we have heavy rainfall in Haslemere, the pedestrian entrance to Woolmer Hill School becomes flooded," she said in her letter.

"The students have difficulty negotiating crossing the road because it is so bad. They are being sprayed by huge amounts of water by passing cars as they walk along the pathway to school."

And she said that despite work undertaken by SCC engineers, the problem remains.

"I have also seen a car speeding through the water, which has caused it to aquaplane and the driver to lose control," she said.

But she said that despite reporting the flooding problems many times, it has all been "to no avail".

Although there are plans to bring improvements to the road if the A3 Hindhead tunnel gets the green light with a start date not likely before 2008 at the earliest, Lorraine Wilson is calling for work to start now.

Mrs Wilson is also asking for a speed limit of 20 mph to be introduced, to stop cars speeding past the school and similar to that which, she said, has been implemented along a stretch of road outside Rodborough School at Milford.

"Woolmer Hill Road is an extremely busy road and is used by a lot of traffic as a cut through from the A3 to Haslemere."

She draws attention to traffic problems in other areas close to Hindhead which causes "an increasing number of impatient motorists to divert through Woolmer Hill Road at quite alarming speeds".

In reply, Haslemere's Surrey County councillor Christine Stevens, who is also a governor of Woolmer Hill School, told Mrs Wilson that she would be discussing the points raised in the letter. Mrs Stevens has also said she will bring the issues up with the Haslemere Transportation Task Group which she chairs.

"I understand that you are frustrated by the delay caused to the A3 related works and funding of traffic-calming scheme in the Woolmer Hill area," said Mrs Stevens in her reply.

Headteacher at the school, Sue Bullen, said: "Since the day I arrived at the school four-and-a-half years ago, I have been absolutely shocked at the problems the children have in crossing Woolmer Hill Road.

"Cars come flying past the school in both directions and children can't see. Everyday is a worry," said Mrs Bullen.

"For the last 18 months we have been campaigning for a crossing, and for something to be done about the flooding problems. When it rains our children get soaked trying to cross the road, something needs to be done urgently."