A CAMPAIGN to increase road safety outside a busy Bolton school looks set to succeed after transport chiefs pledged thousands of pounds to build a lay-by.

The Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority's policy committee has agreed to release £25,000 to improve the bus facilities at Rivington and Blackrod High School.

The total cost of the project to install the bus lay-by will be £50,000 and Bolton Council, which is a partner in the scheme, will fund the rest.

Earlier this year the council completed a design feasibility study and it is now proposed to construct the lay-by outside the school and undertake some alterations to the layout of the road near the school.

Governors at the Rivington Lane school have been calling for a bus bay for years claiming it was only a matter of time before a child is seriously injured or killed.

The GMPTA says the scheme is now expected to "greatly assist bus operations and promote safer boarding and alighting for pupils using school buses".

GMPTA vice chairman and Bolton Council deputy leader Cllr Guy Harkin said: "The authority is committed to improving bus facilities for schools throughout the county and we are very happy to make this contribution to a scheme at Rivington and Blackrod School.

"We want to ensure that pupils are able to board their buses to and from school in as safe an environment as possible."

He added: "Allowing buses to pull up into their own lay-by near the school represents a significant improvement on the existing arrangement and will provide a much safer environment. I am sure that pupils and staff will appreciate this new facility."