Lollipop man, 77, quits after being ordered to stop high-fiving kids

Bryan Broom, who has helped pupils safely cross the road in East Yorkshire for 20 years, described the instruction by his employer as “political correctness gone mad”. The 77-year-old has

now resigned from his post on the street outside Kirk Ella St Andrew’s Community Primary School, near Hull. His departure has prompted an outcry from parents in the area, with many voicing

their support and announcing plans to petition the local authority. Married dad-of-two Mr Broom said he was called in to speak with his employer, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, in

November last year after a mother reacted negatively to one of his jokes. He said: “A lady had come with her child and I said to her, ‘Is that your sister?’  “I have said it to 9,999 ladies,

grandmothers. “They always responded ‘I wish’. “Apparently, instead of coming to me they went straight to the council and put in a complaint. “A child came up to me and said ‘high-five

Bryan’, but apparently I can’t do that because I’ve been told it could be misconstrued as grooming. “This business of political correctness, it has just gone mad.” A spokesman for East

Riding of Yorkshire Council said: “The council has received a number of companies from parents about the behaviour of Mr Broom. "These complaints were investigated but not upheld. “Mr

Broom is choosing to leave of his own accord and we wish him well in the future.” Mr Broom said he was summoned to the council offices over high-fiving children and told: “If it happens

again we really are going to give you a slap on the wrist.” His resignation follows a similar case this week in which Colin Spencer, 83, was ordered to stop high-fiving children in Stockport

over safety concerns.  The pensioner, who has worked outside St George's Primary School in Heaviley for 14 years, was told to "concentrate on his core duty of ensuring highway

safety".