A Falmouth lollipop lady facing redundancy due to Cornwall Council cuts will return to her crossing in the autumn following a temporary reprieve.

Sue Johns, who has patrolled the Albany Road crossing outside King Charles School for 11years, was told in June that her role would no longer be funded from the end of the school year as there was not enough traffic to justify keeping her on. This was despite increases in road use - including buses - since the growth of nearby Falmouth University.

But last week Cornwall Council announced that, following a campaign by parents and friends of the school and Cornwall Councillor Candy Atherton, the crossing patrol will be extended until the end of November to allow greater examination of alternative funding options.

In a letter Andrew Stevenson, highways and drainage manager at the council, said: "Representation has been received from some members that, due to various factors, they have not had sufficient time to explore the possibility of alternative funding streams for the patrols in their electoral division."

He added: "The council is willing to extend funding for the crossing patrol at Albany Road until the end of the autumn term. If, by the end of November, no alternative funding arrangement is in place, then the council will continue with the process of dis-establishing the site and issuing the appropriate redundancy notices to crossing patrol staff."

Ms Atherton had said she was willing to help pay for the patrol from funds she is able to allocate as a councillor, but would like to see the school and possibly Cornwall Council also putting their hands in their pockets.

Following last week's announcement by the council, she said she had agreed to meet King Charles School head teacher Claire Fortey at the start of next term to discuss options, but she understood that the school's governors had voted not to fund the patrol. She added that an option being considered was to put railings at the end of the lane which runs by the school to prevent children from running out into the road.