Intrepid lollipop lady Maureen Brunger is hanging up her pole for the last time because of abuse from angry drivers.

Road rage has reached a peak outside her Ashford schools - with drivers parking poorly and swearing at the school's two lollipop ladies.

Maureen, 61, who started as a lollipop lady 24 years ago to be closer to her children, said she's had enough.

The mother-of-two, who works at Willesborough Infants and Junior School, said: "I'm leaving at the end of this month. This road has got worse over the years.

"In the past I've been physically attacked, by a man who grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and swore at me.

"Every week I get some form of swearing or hand gestures. I've even been clipped by cars."

The situation has become so bad on Church Road and Highfield Road that members of the Ashford Community Safety Unit (CSU) were called in to tackle the situation recently.

Kent County Council wardens and the police appeared at the school gates targeting motorists who flouted the law.

Maureen said: "You're out here to do your job and we get abuse just for doing it.

"My colleague Michelle at the other end gets the same and we can't do anything about it.

"We sometimes get a traffic warden down here and everyone behaves but they can't be here all the time."

The area is described as a "notorious black spot for illegal and dangerous parking during the school run" by the CSU.

The unit's safety manager David Lloyd said: "Church Road and Highfield Road have for a long time been a problem at rush hour, but parents need to realise that their driving habits and selfish parking is putting lives at risk.

"The fire service was on hand to illustrate the fact that if they needed to get through the traffic in an emergency with the appliance, this sort of parking is hindering their efforts."

Maureen will be leaving her lollipop job on Friday, March 23, having starting in 1988.