A LOLLIPOP man has blamed parents for rising classroom violence after revealing that he suffers regular abuse from adults on the school run.

Chris Allen claims he has been sworn at and intimidated by parents parking illegally by the school gates and said: "If they behave like children, what hope is there for their kids?".

He said he was compelled to speak out after last week's exclusive Evening Telegraph nvestigation, which revealed 72 of the region's teachers were assaulted by pupils in 12 months to March.

The 45-year-old has been employed by Lancashire County Council as a lollipop man outside Langho and Billington St Leonard's CE Primary School, Langho, since October.

Mr Allen, of Willow Trees Drive, Lammack, Blackburn, said: "I was gobsmacked when I saw the story on teachers being assaulted, but when it comes to primary schools and children that age, who else can you blame except for the parents, especially when they are behaving irresponsibly."

He claims in the last nine months: * Parents have regularly parked illegally outside the school, even though there are clear zig-zags and Keep Clear' road markings outside the Whalley Road School and two car parks on the street.

* People have sworn at him and given him "a mouthful of abuse" when he pointed out that they were parked illegally.

* Motorists have parked on the pavement outside the school entrance.

* One parent, unhappy Mr Allen had told off his wife, stopped in front of him and "glared at me for three to four minutes" before parking his car.

Langho and Billington St Leonard's CE Primary did not feature among the 72 incidents, but Mr Allen is in no doubt why elsewhere in East Lancashire pupils were behaving so irresponsibly.

The Evening Telegraph's findings, released under the Freedom of Information Act, revealed that staff have been butted, kicked and punched by their pupils on a regular basis and suffered a host of injuries, ranging from concussion to electric shocks.

His comments come days after seven children, aged 10 and 11, were suspended after police were called to break up a planned fight between pupils from Audley Junior School, Queen's Park Road, Blackburn, and St Mary and St Joseph's RC Primary School, Bennington Street.

Mr Allen, whose nine-year-old son attends the school, added: "Whenever I say anything they just look at me as if to say Who the hell are you?' and I have had a mouthful of abuse.

"One man recently wound down his window, swore at me and drove off.

"If some parents are behaving like children and can't obey the rules and act responsibly, how can pupils be expected to?"

Parents said they had not witnessed any abuse of the lollipop man, but admitted some were parking illegally.

One woman, who has two children aged nine and 11 at the school, said: "Because of the tight schedules I have seen some parents park outside the school and yes it's not setting a good example.

"The children at this school are well-behaved but if parents are effing and jeffing to the lollipop man with the kids in the back seat of their cars then that's horrendous."

Bernice Walton, of Ontario Close, Blackburn, picking up her granddaughter Ellie, six, said: "It is a good school, but I think the lollipop man is right, children take their ideas from parents and everybody has to obey the rules.

"It is disgraceful if the man is being given abuse, parents should have more sense they really should.

"If parents give aggro, children will also."