All too often nowadays, we hear of people simply crossing the road and walking by when they witness a crime, so thank goodness one brave member of the public stood up and did the right thing, phoning Torbay Council to report lollipop wielding do-gooder Craig Hodges who, untrained, unsupervised and without even having attended a Diversity Course; had been blatantly assisting children to cross a busy main road opposite their school in Paignton, Devon. For goodness sake, if we don't nip this sort of Social Behaviour in the bud, then where will it end? Before we know it, young people will be picking up discarded cans and crisp packets and throwing them in litter bins without a second thought for the consequences.
Like all true heroes, the mystery caller did not wish to talk about his bravery and brushed aside any suggestion of a reward:
"I didn't have time to think of the danger to myself, the training took over and I just did what any of my colleagues would have done in that situation. I could tell straight away that he was up to no good; he had a friendly, pleasant manner and a yellow fluorescent jacket, which was later found to contain a CRB Check. He has shown no remorse for his actions whatsoever and the sooner he is put behind bars, the safer the people of Paignton will be"
The Council have denied that they are planning to take Mr Hodges' children away from him.
12 comments:
So the Council won't take his kids..but what if he is a BAD PERSON?
What if he is overweight? He might even be eating choolate.....What if he smokes? What if he likes a drink after a hard works' day....and he might even go so far and deny his children junk food in favour of his wife's home-cooked meals , contining evils like fresh veg?
Then the Social Services will take the children to much, much better foster home where everyone had lots of diversity and this-that-the-other-awareness training.
Rejoyce, children....rescue is approaching! Lovely PC adoptive parents waiting in the wings, and the SS will be able to meet their "adoption targets"..now, just how nice is that?
I don't believe that anyone phoned in to the council, they just used that as an excuse to stop him.
John Gibson
I'm surprised there was no overt mention of Health & Safety (even though there was an oblique reference to it).
As a H&S Officer, I'm heartily sick and tired of stupidity masquerading as H&S or child protection. Surely the council could have checked that Mr Hodges knew his Green Cross Code.
My own belief is that they can't accept the concept of the volunteer. Volunteers can appear to usurp the authority of the council, as they can walk away if the bureaucratic stupidity level gets too high. Volunteers are not as controllable!
Hi Frank you say to email receipt to you, what is your email? Please email it to me
Training lollipop people? Sounds like a good bandwagon to jump onto, as the training involved must be top-notch, high-tech, and very well paid. Where can I sign up as on Official State-approved Lollipop Person Facilitator?
Knowing how car drivers can get I wonder if he wasn't reported by someone he asked to stop so that the children could cross the road.
So they are probably using the police instead, as if they don't have to enough to do!
Could be worse though. When I grew up in Belfast when the police replaced the lollipop man it took at least 3 of them - one to help the children cross the road, one to stand at the side of the road with his rifle and at least one to hide further up the street in the bushes. What a great use of resources!
But Anonymous from Belfast—think of the commitment to ‘normality’ those three RUC represented: little things like well-armed terrorists with global reach would not stop our coppers from school-crossing duty! Like those milkmen striding through the rubble of the Blitz. (Mind, should’ve got the army to do it: white tape each end of the road and voila, no traffic’s coming through here…)
Thank for this story Mr Chalk, It may seem a bit like the PC brigade gone mad, but may I just point out that this gentleman would not have been insured, as he was not emplyed by the council (and therefore trained etc)
I for one totally admire his wishes to help the children, and that is why I became a lollipop myself.
btw, if the council cannot find a replacement (which is an ongoing problem everywhere) then sometimes the police are obliged to do it, but I think for only a few days!
I do hope that the regular lollipop will be back soon.
best wishes to you and Craig.
xx
"Not being insured" is always the excuse one hears from the public sector.
The bottom line is that I would much rather my child be crossed over a busy road by a well meaning adult with no training whatsoever than try and cross on their own.
Anonymous 22:39
Do you enjoy being a lollipop?
YesI do, otherwise I wouldn't do it.
Thankfully the pleasure I get still outweighs the hastle and abuse that comes with it.
(but there are days when I consider hanging up my hat - usually due to inconsiderate/rude/abusive/threatening mad drivers)
Sadlt the insurance part is important in this *sue anyone* culture, but as a parent I heartily agree about not wanting the children to take a chance on the roads.
xx
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