Concerns have been raised over gridlocked cars, parking on yellow lines and traffic pollution occurring on a Leek road as children in the town walk to school.

The concerns were raised in a recent meeting of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council's Community Overview & Scrutiny Panel, and related to Westwood Road in Leek.

The road is a busy route used by pedestrians and motorists on the school run in Leek, as it is used to get to several Leek schools such as Westwood First School and St Edwards Church of England Academy.

Speaking at the meeting, Labour Cllr Mike Gledhill, representing Leek South, worried that children's health was being put at risk due to the pollution caused by the volume of cars on the road.

He said: "I was out this morning and was really impressed to see the number of children walking to Leek High School and Westwood College, and I have real praise for kids who walk all the way across town to school.

"But I do want to highlight a major problem, particularly around Westwood Road.

"Cars become gridlocked in both directions, some park on yellow lines, some leave engines running.

"Kids are walking to school but their health could be damaged by the prevalence of these cars. It's a difficult situation but you can really sense the pollution and see the dangers caused."

Cllr Gledhill's comments came in the form of a question submitted to Conservative Cllr Joe Porter, representing Brown Edge & Endon.

He replied: "This is a really important issue as children return to school.

"Children's health is paramount and we know that health and wellbeing is linked to climate change.

"The county council have a great campaign called Air Aware Staffordshire that have done some great work with schools in Leek, and we will continue working with them because they are doing a really good job.

"Some schools around the country are temporarily closing off streets and pedestrianizing them. That's something that could be looked at for specific locations in the Moorlands.

"There is no quick win solution for this sort of thing, you have to bring schools and communities with you."

Labour Cllr Keith Hoptroff also submitted a similar question to Cllr Porter earlier in the meeting, asking: "The Government has announced a £338 million investment in walking and cycling, which, together with the Highway Code amendments should increase the potential for significantly less car use.

"Mindful that transport is the biggest source of carbon emissions resulting in premature death what provisions do we intend to implement to encourage active travel?"

Cllr Porter replied: "As we've seen in the last 18 months active travel has been more important than ever.

"This is something that's going to keep increasing in importance in the Moorlands and across the country.

"I would really like to see more places like Biddulph Valley Way and Monsal Trail in the local area.

"We will be applying for pots of money using some of the routes we have identified in our Green Infrastructure Strategy."