The route starts in Sculthorpe, before going over a small pedestrian refuge island on the A148 that leads to Fakenham Road.

It then takes pedestrians over a stretch of the A1065 and through a residential area to get to Fakenham Academy.

A safety assessment carried out by Norfolk County Council concluded the route was suitable for home to school transport purposes – removing the requirement to provide a bus service for children in the village.

Lawrence Southerland described the council’s reasoning behind the assessment as (Image: Newsquest)

But serious concerns were raised about the methodology and conclusions by Sculthorpe man Lawrence Southerland, who described them as “mathematically flawed” and “factually incomplete”.

Mr Southerland, 44, whose youngest son is due to start secondary school next year, said: “The council said the route is fine, that it’s safe to walk, but it isn’t, and that’s why we’ve challenged it.

“The assessment said that there is no continuous pedestrian footway along large sections of the route. Children are expected to walk on roadside verges and step offs to avoid traffic.

“Their reasoning is flawed and I just think it’s disgusting really. The route itself goes over unlit, national speed limit roads and doesn’t reflect the real world risks that could be faced by children.

“My worry is that one child will get hurt and only then is when something will be changed”.

The refuge island crossing over the A148 in Sculthorpe (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Southerland said the council’s analysis only identified three safe traffic gaps in a five-minute window at peak school hours – which is below Road Safety UK guidelines for a route crossing.

He added that the assessment didn’t take into consideration the reaction times, hazard perception, or walking speeds of school aged children, nor the narrow carriageway sections of Fakenham Road.

There were also concerns surrounding the requirement to cross over the A1065 – without traffic lights, a pedestrian crossing or refuge island.

Concerns were raised over the narrow width and lack of pedestrian footway on Fakenham Road (Image: Newsquest)

According to GOV.uk, children qualify for free school transport if they attend their nearest suitable school, live either two or three miles away, or there is no safe walking route.

Steve Gibson, who has a daughter in secondary school and a 10-year-old son soon starting, is also urging the council to reinstate the scheme for affected children in the village.

“It’s not about our individual children, but the route itself”, said Mr Gibson, 50. “There’s a speed limit on the road where people cross, but motorists generally don’t stick to that.

“There’s no pathway on Fakenham Road at all, it’s not gritted in the winter and it can get very icy. I definitely wouldn’t want my kids going down there.

“It takes about 45 minutes to walk from our home to school. It’s not only highly hazardous, but it’s just not practical.

“You don’t live somewhere rural and expect all the amenities you would usually get in a town or city, but the process just doesn’t feel right”.

Steve Gibson said it was “not about our individual children, but the route itself” (Image: Newsquest)

Calls to improve safety on the A1065 were previously raised after a 60-year-old cyclist was killed while attempting to use the crossing.

Locals have also described the road as “lethal”, highlighting cars hurtling past at 60mph and grown-out hedgerows which limit visibility.

Mr Southerland said that details of the fatal crash were omitted from the council’s safety assessment of the route.

The case has been escalated to the second stage of the council’s corporate complaints procedure after the first stage investigation was not upheld.

The crossing over the A1065 where a fatal crash previously took place (Image: Newsquest)

A spokesman for Norfolk County Council said: “The route has been assessed in accordance with national road safety guidelines and took into consideration all things within that guidance including road crossing assessments and accident records.

“Any parent who has a child attending Fakenham Academy for whom Council-funded school transport has been refused can appeal through the home to school transport appeals process”.