Ex lollipop lady, 87, died after collision on road she campaigned to make safer

Irene Allen died on December 11 after she was involved in a road traffic collision in Bury on December 6.

Police are investigating the incident (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire)

An 87-year-old former lollipop lady died after she was involved in a traffic collision on a road in Greater Manchester which she had campaigned to make safer.

Grandmother Irene Allen was seriously injured on Walmersley Road in Bury on December 6 and she died from her injuries on December 11.

Police are investigating and have urged anyone with footage from the area in the moments leading up to and before the collision to come forward.

Irene’s daughter Melanie has now paid tribute to her mother, the “first lollipop lady in Bury”.

Melanie noted the “tragic irony” of the location of the collision, as her mother campaigned for safer crossings for school children on Walmersley Road in the 1960s.

In a statement released by Greater Manchester Police, she said: “Irene was a much loved ex-medical receptionist at Ribblesdale House and AgeUK Jubilee Centre committee member.

“Irene lost the fight for her life on Sunday December 11, she had been involved in a road traffic collision on Walmersley Road, Bury, on Tuesday morning, and despite the best efforts of Salford Royal Rescue and ICU teams, Irene never fully regained consciousness.

“The police are continuing to investigate the circumstances but a post-mortem concluded that she died of multiple injuries caused by the collision.

“Irene, a keen walker and Rawtenstall Cricket fan, leaves behind a daughter and three grandchildren, and a whole community who miss her sunny personality.

“Always putting others before herself, in the mid 1960s Irene complained to Bury Council about the lack of safe crossings for school children across the busy Walmersley Road and became the newsworthy first lollipop lady in Bury.

“This tragic irony sits with us today.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 4741 quoting incident 1115 of 06/12/22.