A move to get yellow zig-zag lines painted outside schools in a safety drive has been rejected by Oxfordshire County Council.

Cowley and Littlemore councillor John Sanders wanted to invite schools to take part in a pilot project aimed at reducing accidents outside school gates.

The scheme, funded by the Government's Better Ways to School budget, would make stopping or unloading by cars at zig-zag markings outside schools illegal between 8am and 5pm on weekdays.

There are no such markings outside any schools in Oxfordshire.

The aim of the scheme is to discourage parents from dropping or collecting their children in cars close to the school gates.

However, the move was put to a vote at a meeting of the council last week and lost by 38 votes to eight.

Mr Sanders now has to wait six months before he can put the motion forward again. He said: "For some strange reason, they decided to politicise it. I'm going to bring it back in six months and I'm going to press and get people on board - including parents and teachers.

"I couldn't bring myself to see some child knocked down or killed, because I didn't do anything."