Former lollipop man Bryan Broom appeared on This Morning earlier today to give his side of the story
Bryan Broom worked as a lollipop man for nearly two years, helping children cross the street near Kirk Ella St Andrew’s Community Primary School in his local Hull.
Beloved by pupils and parents alike, Bryan was very popular in his role on the road and had a daily routine of high-fiving all the children.
But unfortunately, some parents did not take too kindly to Bryan's familiarity with their children, and put in a complaint to the council.
GALLERY: 11 celebrity women guilty of finding love with lawbreakers
11 celebrity women guilty of finding love with lawbreakers (Slider)
1 of 11Ferne McCann and Arthur Collins
Ferne might be one of our TOWIE favourites, but the gorgeous Essex girl has been very unlucky in love. Her relationship with Charlie Sims played out spectacularly while she was on TOWIE, and during her time on Celebs Go Dating she never met anyone who she was interested in.However, just days after publically talking about her plans to marry her now-boyfriend Arthur Collins, the police have issued an appeal to find him in connection to an acid attack at a club in London over the bank holiday weekend.
2 of 11Gemma Collins and Stephen Mortimer
Gemma and Stephen had an on-and-off relationship. He spent two years in prison for grievous bodily harm, and during Gemma's stint in Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, he was back in prison for allegedly breaching his license terms.When she left the house, she also had to face rumours that he had cheated on her numerous times.
3 of 11Kerry Katona and George Kay
Kerry and George have had a tumultuous relationship, and although they called it quits in 2015, the couple decided to rekindle their relationship in August 2016.However, during the time of their marriage breakdown George was allegedly detained for assault and unlawful possession of a taser. He also previously served a three-year prison sentence for blackmail.
4 of 11Mel B and Stephen Belafonte
Earlier this year, Mel B filed for divorce from her husband of ten years, Stephen Belafonte. The couple share 5-year-old daughter, Madison, but in the leaked papers Mel cites irreconcilable differences as grounds for divorce.Since then, it has come to light that Mel made many allegations against the film producer, including that he was reportedly physically and verbally abusive throughout their marriage.
5 of 11Lauren Goodger and Joey Morrison
Lauren has received a lot of bad press about the men she has dated. When she first appeared on TOWIE, she had been dating Mark Wright for the best part of eight years before they went their separate ways.Lauren then went on to date Jake McLean for four years, but now she is seeing Joey Morrison. He's a friend of a friend who is currently serving time in prison for violent drugs-related charges, and he is expected to be released later this year.
6 of 11Steph Davis and Jeremy McConnell
Steph and Jeremy had an on-off relationship for the best part of 2016 after meeting in the Celebrity Big Brother house.When Steph announced she was pregnant, Jeremy refused to believe he was the father and throughout the pregnancy she was determined to raise her baby on her own.However, when Caben-Albi was born Jeremy stepped up and appeared to be trying to make up for lost time. The couple reunited, but shortly afterwards reports swirled that Jeremy had been arrested on suspicion of assault.Before the news broke, Steph had shared a picture of her bruised body on Snapchat, prompting fans to believe she may have been the victim. Jeremy denied any wrongdoing and is now in rehab dealing with his demons. Steph has confirmed she'll be there for him when he gets out.
7 of 11Daniella Westbrook and Tom Richards
Daniella and Tom dated cage fighter Tom Richards, and they even got engaged before the relationship broke down in 2015.Following their break-up, Daniella claimed that Tom had violently attacked her although the charges were eventually dropped.
8 of 11Chantelle Houghton and Alex Reid
Chantelle was engaged to Katie Price's ex, Alex Reid, and the former couple share 4-year-old daughter, Dolly.But just weeks after Chantelle gave birth, cage fighter Alex was arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to the couple's Brentwood home and the pair split shortly after.
9 of 11Katie Price and Leandro Penna
Katie and Leandro met at an Oscars party in 2011 and started dating soon after, even getting engaged for six months before the relationship ended.Although he appeared to have a squeaky clean image, in 2013 Leandro was accused of assault after a disagreement at a party in London hinting that Katie's ex was more of a bad boy than anyone initially thought.
10 of 11Amy Childs and Bradley Wright
Amy is expecting her first child with boyfriend, Bradley Wright. He already has a daughter from a previous relationship, but Amy has been with him for two years now.Bradley has previously spent time in prison serving sentences for burglary, handling stolen goods and driving offences.
11 of 11Cara Kilby and Daniel Harris
Cara Kilby only had a brief stint on TOWIE, but she was a firm favourite with viewers.Her boyfriend, Daniel, was sentenced to two years in prison after being accussed of leading a gang that sold drugs across London. He is due for release in the next few weeks.
Bryan, whose children and grandchildren all went to the school too, told Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford on This Morning earlier today that he'd been issued with a warning by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
He revealed: "I was called into a meeting and was told high-fiving could be construed as grooming by the council."
Bryan couldn't believe his ears, but refrained from high-fiving the chlidren the next day.
When they asked why he wouldn't high-five them anymore, Bryan told them the truth - that the simple act could be construed as grooming.
That did not go down very well with parents of the children, who complained to the school that Bryan had used the word grooming to the youngsters.
Then, other parents came forward to say that they'd been made to feel uncomfortable by Bryan after he'd joked that they looked young, saying they could be their children's sister.
He felt he had no choice but to resign, telling Eamonn and Ruth: "I resigned because I’m a rather outgoing person, and I can’t do a job where I’m constantly looking over my shoulder to see if I'm saying the right thing or where any action can be interpreted wrongly."
Bryan's friends from the school threw him a leaving party, which he called "emotional and humbling," and that the "support I got from my mums, grannies and carers was amazing."
He also said that he believed the council were "kow-towing down" to a "very small minority of people" instead of "embracing the views of the vast majority."
WATCH: Lollipop man Bryan Broom defends his actions after council accused him of grooming children with high fives
He added: "It makes me terribly sad. I didn’t want to resign but I can’t work under these conditions. It is a very worthwhile job, it’s an essential job, we do need lollipop people.
"But if the council adopts this type of attitude, I don’t think they are going to get them - the children will lose."
One of the parents from the school spoke to Eamonn and Ruth, saying: "He was perfect. Getting children ready for school each morning isn’t the easiest thing. He always maintained safety and brightened up our mornings as well.
"I always knew he would make me belly laugh. Everyone is really upset and angry. We don’t know who’s made the complaints. It’s all a bit strange."
**What do you make of this story? Do you think Bryan acted inappropriately? Or do you think it's all be taken out of context? Let us know over on **Facebook and Twitter.
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