Mayor hopes to make region 'safest place for kids'

The mayor of South Yorkshire says it is his mission to make the region the "safest place in the UK" for children "when it comes to walking, wheeling and cycling".

Labour's Oliver Coppard has been answering questions on BBC Radio Sheffield's Call Coppard phone-in.

He also spoke about tackling shoplifting, feeling safe in the community and investing in electric buses.

Read our takeaways from the hour below and listen to the full interview here.

Discussing road safety in the region, he said: "I've introduced Vision Zero - something really close to my heart - a vision of having no killed or seriously injured people on our roads as soon as humanly possible.

"Because, right now South Yorkshire is right far down the list.

"That's partly to do with how big we are and the rural nature of our roads, but it's also because we don't have enough speed cameras.

"We don't have enough ways to catch people when they're driving recklessly or speeding."

He added: "I've got my team working on a whole plan around neighbourhoods and communities, particularly around schools, because I want to make this the best place in the country for kids when it comes to walking, wheeling and cycling."

The mayor said part of the plan is to boost the number of zebra crossings on side streets in the region.

Coppard was quizzed about what he planned to do about prolific shoplifting in certain areas of the region.

"I've seen this for myself, a youngish woman in a pharmacy clearing a make-up counter into her jacket.

"The manager said it happens seven or eight times a day and she spends most of her time filling in forms for head office to tell them exactly what's happened - then they get the insurance money through and it goes on in that cycle.

"And when they call the police - they do not respond how she would like."

He added: "I've taken this up with my team and the police because we can't live in a society where people feel they are immune from justice."

Coppard said the criminal justice system also needed to respond differently to shoplifting by taking it more seriously.

"Police need to step in and step up," he added.

Self-confessed "bus geek" Coppard said new prime minister Andy Burnham's pledge on fares will hugely benefit South Yorkshire on top of the free bus travel for under 18s in Sheffield, planned from February 2027.

"From January we now have the £2 bus fare cap for everybody and we want to look at whether we can introduce that on the tram.

"From next September we will have a whole new fleet of electric buses - all new, big orange electric buses running around South Yorkshire."

When asked what the new fleet had to do with fares, Coppard said: "All these improvements mean more people can get the bus for less money and it'll be a better service, a nicer experience.

"Even if you still want to drive, you can get around more easily due to less traffic because of our better buses."

He said he previously promised to "fix public transport" and was making "huge progress" after investing £350m.

Coppard heard from listeners in Hillsborough who said youths as young as 12, with covered faces, had racially abused and intimidated them while riding e-bikes around the park.

He told those affected: "If you choose to make your life here and contribute to our community, this is your home and I am very sorry.

"We want to make sure the police are stepping up appropriately to anti-social behaviour in Hillsborough Park.

"Police will step in and walk around the park and make sure they're doing their job, but ultimately we have got to be in a community where these things are not happening and people can go about their lives, whoever they are, wherever they are."