A local dad is concerned about children’s safety because none of the flashing ‘20s’ plenty’ signs appear to be working at schools across the Three Towns.

Douglas Wilson said that the signs at all Three Towns primary and secondary schools have been down since before the summer.

The driving instructor believes that North Ayrshire Council is putting children’s safety at risk to save money.

Douglas said: “The school flashing lights in the Three Towns have not been put on since the school came back from summer. I take it child safety is not important to North Ayrshire Council?

“They’re saving money at the safety of children and that’s absolutely disgusting.

“It’s a disgrace. It’s all the schools in the Three Towns, everywhere. That is a money saving thing. Why was it not put back on? Is there a fault in every single light?

“I’m worried about the primary schools especially because they don’t have the lollipop people any more. They need these lights. If it’s a fault, why not turn round and say there’s a fault? Why is it taking half a term to sort?”

Douglas had complained to the Herald previously about the flashing signs being faulty. In December 2015, he told us it was only a matter of time until a child got knocked down.

Shortly after our report, North Ayrshire Council fixed the lights.

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “Due to a number of hardware and software failures, we have temporarily disconnected the part-time 20mph flashing signs at various locations.

“Unfortunately, because of the age of the existing equipment, spare parts have been extremely difficult to source, resulting in delays in having the signs repaired.

“Road safety remains a major priority for us. While a number of Local Authorities across Scotland have removed their part-time 20mph flashing signs, this is not an option we are currently considering.

“In the meantime, we apologise for the delay and hope to rectify the situation as soon as possible.”