The safety of a schoolgirl is the answer to why a mysterious dummy has appeared next to a busy main road heading to Mersea.
Last week, the Evening Gazette reported how drivers have been puzzled to see a mannequin hoisted about 10ft in the air in a field, just before the Strood, beside Mersea Road.
But it has been revealed the dummy is positioned as a marker showing bus drivers where to stop.
Marking the spot - John Sawdon with his daughter, Jaye Picture: NIGEL BROWN
John Sawdon, who owns Bonners Farm, placed the dummy in his field to ensure his 11-year-old daughter Jaye was kept safe on her way home from school.
She has recently started as a pupil at Colchester County High School for Girls and is taken to and from the school by bus.
Mr Sawdon said he has asked bus operator First to make sure Jaye is left directly outside the entrance to his farm, on a busy stretch of Mersea Road without paths or lights, so she doesn't have to walk along it.
"The simple solution was to make a noticeable point that the drivers could really see," said Mr Sawdon.
Published Thursday October 31, 2002
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