EDGWARE lollipop man Peter Johnson has been named the best in London.

Peter, 51, of Harcourt Avenue, a single father-of-four who has multiple sclerosis, has won the capital's Lollipop Man of the Year title.

He works on the crossing outside Broadfields Junior School in Broadfields Avenue, Edgware, where his eight-year-old son, Jake, is a pupil.

"I'm pretty choked," he said, before explaining how he became a school crossing patrol man. "I was walking one morning and saw a mother and her child almost getting hit by a van. We were all talking about it. Jake was with me and he said Dad, you can do it'. I went home, had a cup of tea, and thought, why not?"

He said that the situation outside the school could sometimes be chaotic.

"Parents feel they have to park as close to the school as possible," he said. "I've had words with them, including two or three confrontations. They trust me enough now to drop their children off further away and let them walk, which is brilliant."

The school's acting headteacher, David Griffiths, said: "Peter is there come rain or shine, and when he can't turn up he is devastated and really concerned about the children."