Pupils to pay for illegal parking

The school hopes the rule will change some parents' behaviour

Pupils at a Kent school have been warned they will be punished for their parents' illegal parking.

Children at Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School in Rochester who get into cars parked in the nearby bus lane will now face a detention.

Head teacher Keith Williams also said the registration numbers of offending cars would be sent to the police.

He hopes the new rules will encourage pupils to put pressure on their parents to park legally.

In a letter to parents, Mr Williams said the school "cannot be responsible for educating adults" and "pupils themselves will be punished" if they were seen getting into a car parked in a bus bay.

'Educate parents'

He told BBC South East Today: "We have a very small minority of parents who have decided that rules that apply to everyone else do not apply to them.

"What I'm actually saying to the pupils is help us to educate your parents.

"Basically what we want is the pupils to say to they parents, 'Don't pick me up in the bus bay because I'm likely to get into trouble'."

They was a mixed response from parents, some of whom said the school should provide extra parking and transport.

However, others said the rule would increase road safety.