A lollipop lady is retiring after 35 years after first applying for the role as a joke.

There is little 63-year-old Wendy Blendell has not seen in her time at Sutton-at-Hone Primary School – whether it’s parents having a quick shave at the wheel or having litter thrown at her from inconsiderate drivers.

But now Mrs Blendell is ready to pack away her big sign so she can spend some time with her grandchildren.

She told the Messenger: “It’s quite sad but I want to be able to take my own grandchildren to school now – which I’m never able to do.”

Mrs Blendell, of Barton Road in Sutton-at-Hone, previously worked as a hairdresser and minibus driver but applied for the job as the school’s lollipop lady initially as a joke.

But over three decades on, she remained in her post and said she has seen some changes over the years.

“The main change is that so many more people travel by car now,” she said. “A lot of the motorists I see don’t abide by the rules of the road. So many times I have had people just go past me when I try and stop the traffic.”

Her experience with rude drivers even includes having rubbish thrown at her from a car window for no apparent reason. “I don’t know why it happened,” she said. “Some motorists just don’t care.”

But overall, Mrs Blendell says she enjoyed her time there and will miss the job. “I will probably miss the children and their parents the most,” she said. “They are very friendly children.”

“Quite a lot of the children that I took across the road now have children of their own. Some of them could even have grandchildren by now.”

Mrs Blendell plans to take on voluntary work in her retirement with her husband.