Council bosses are using new bollards shaped and painted to resemble schoolchildren, in a bid to curb speeding near a school.

The metal figures have been put outside Avenue Primary School in Leicester to encourage motorists to slow down.

If they prove a success, the tactic could be employed across the city, councillors say.

Patrick Kitterick, Leicester City Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and transport, said the experiment would determine whether the bollards were more successful at slowing drivers than traditional speed bumps.

“There’s been a mixed reaction to them,” he said. “Some people find them scary, with these big eyes staring at you, but some others find them amusing.

“The whole point is whether it is successful and if people actually find they slow down because of them. If when we get the feedback and find out the experiment works, we would look at rolling it out.”

A spokesman for the council said the total cost of the traffic-calming scheme, which included speed humps, 20mph zones, speed tables and road signs, was #163;230,000. The bollards cost #163;350 each. DM.