Irene Reid (lollipop lady)

Last updated
Irene Reid
MBE
Born1940 or 1941
OccupationLollipop lady
Years active1968-present
TitleMember of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire

Irene Reid, MBE (born 1940 or 1941) is a British lollipop lady who, in 2017, was declared the UK's longest-serving lollipop lady. [1]

Reid works as a lollipop lady in Longridge, Ribble Valley, [2] covering the Longridge Church of England Primary School crossing on Berry Lane. [3] In 2003, she was awarded the Golden Jubilee Lollipop Person of the year. [4] In 2012, she was declared the longest-serving lollipop lady in Lancashire [5] and was awarded an MBE by Elizabeth II for her services to road safety. [6] [5] In 2017, it was estimated Reid had ferried pupils across the road 1.3 million times. [7]

In June 2024, Reid received a special award from Lancashire County Council for her 55 years of service. She told the BBC: ""I've done this job for so long really because of the people in Longridge. They are so nice, they're all behind me." [8]

Reid has been outspoken about crossing safety for children, openly criticising plans by Lancashire County Council in 2014 to reduce funding for crossing patrols. [9] Reid also worked with the Longridge Youth and Community Centre for a decade. [10] In mid 2024, she was aged 84 and a great-grandmother of 10. [8] Reid is in a relationship with Hawklords musician Harvey Bainbridge. [1] She appeared on the British television game show Blankety Blank in 2021. [11]

References

  1. 1 2 Finch, Fiona (13 March 2019). "Irene's 50 fabulous years as Lancashire's Mrs Lollipop". Lancashire Post. Retrieved 15 January 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ↑ Faulkner, Paul (1 Nov 2021). "Bradley Walsh as host persuades Longridge lollipop lady of 53 years to go on Blankety Blank". Lancashire Post .
  3. ↑ "Lollipop lady to open Longridge Does Christmas". Lancashire Evening Post . November 29, 2019 – via Gale OneFile.
  4. ↑ "Help lick our lollipop crisis". Lancashire Evening Post . January 9, 2006 – via Gale OneFile.
  5. 1 2 "MBE honour for Longridge lollipop lady Irene Reid". BBC News. 2011-12-31. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  6. ↑ "Queen Elizabeth II meeting was 'like two nans nattering'". BBC News. 2022-09-12. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  7. ↑ "Meet the lollipop lady who has spent five decades helping Longridge pupils". Blog Preston. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. 1 2 "Lollipop lady's 55-year career honoured by council". BBC. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ↑ "Crossing patrol plan will 'put young lives at risk'". Lancashire Evening Post . February 28, 2014 – via Gale OneFile.
  10. ↑ Duggan, Claran (October 11, 2017). "Irene's still top of the lollipops for children". Lancashire Telegraph . Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  11. ↑ Macpherson, Jon (November 2, 2021). "Longridge lollipop lady stuns Blankety Blank host Bradley Walsh when sharing her age". LancsLive. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.