Colouring in with felt tips and making posters

is usually an end-of-day privilege for well-behaved schoolchildren.

But now parents are grabbing the marker pens to teach a lesson of their own - getting motorists to slow down.

Parents of pupils at Carlton Hill Primary School, in Carlton Hill, Brighton, staged a protest yesterday against irresponsible motorists by creating a mock zebra crossing using marker pens and 12ft of linen sheeting.

Cristina De Diego and Stan Watson's two children, Eliot, seven, and Fionnula, ten, are pupils at the school.

Miss De Diego, from Queen's Park, Brighton, said: "It's only a matter of time before someone is killed. Carlton Hill is just a rat run. The road is so narrow, drivers don't wait for each other to pass. They just mount the pavement instead."

She said parents felt Brighton and Hove City Council had not done enough to ensure their children's safety.

Sam Matthews, whose eight-year-old son Herbie goes to the school, held up a sign saying, "We want a zebra crossing before our children get a squashing".

She said: "It's really treacherous down here. The cars drive so fast. You feel as though you are taking your life into your hands sometimes."

Miranda Ellis, whose son Nyah, ten, is a pupil at the school, said: "We have followed all the right channels for about two years but we are not prepared for a child to die before action is taken.

"The only way the council will take this seriously is if we take direct action.

"Ideally we would like a zebra crossing but speed bumps or even bollards to stop drivers mounting the pavement and more school warning triangle signs would be a start."

Tom Jayston, 33, lives in Tilbury Court, next to the school, and was hit by a car about six weeks ago, leaving him with a bruised leg.

He said: "I always think about the school and that there isn't a proper crossing or lollipop lady or even proper signs. It's madness."

Traffic-calming schemes are prioritised on the basis of accident records and traffic speeds. Carlton Hill is joint 18th on a list of 140 sites waiting for action.

A council spokesman said: "We have funds to complete about one scheme a year. The top three priorities are Ditchling Road, Hangleton Road, and Shirley Drive.

"These are roads far more dangerous than Carlton Hill and all of them are routinely crossed by schoolchildren.

"Installing a traffic-calming scheme at Carlton Hill ahead of more dangerous areas would increase rather than decrease the risk of a child being killed.

"While parents at Carlton Hill are understandably looking out for their own children the council has to consider everyone's children."

Headteacher Phil Smith said: "We understand the urgency and frustration the community feels. About 18 months ago there was a hit-and-run collision right outside the school.

"I am very, very concerned about children's safety. Like the rest of the community, I feel frustrated and angry."

Another protest is planned for next week.