West Dunbartonshire Council told Nkosana Mdikane, 74 – known as Scotland’s happiest lollipop man – he was no longer to give children from Aitkenbar and St Peter’s Primary School a high five as they cross the street on Whiteford Avenue.

After the Reporter broke the story online on Wednesday, it exploded on social media and has since travelled around the world gathering mounting support for Nkosana – who youngsters affectionately call ‘Smiley’.

David Dufton, who started the petition, told the Reporter: “It’s amazing how far the story has travelled. It’s been published in every country you can think of. People know this is a good cause worth supporting. It’s just the council that doesn’t see that.” David’s daughter Abigail attends Aitkenbar Primary, and was upset when she was told she couldn’t have a high five last Wednesday, sparking David to set up the Facebook page Save Our High 5s – which attracted 14,457 likes in just four days – and an online petition which has collected more than 10,000 signatures.

He added: “My wife was walking to school with our three kids, an 18 month old, a three year old, and our five year old. They were crossing the street and the kids ran to give him a high five, but they were told he wasn’t supposed to do that anymore.

“He explained to my wife that they said he can’t give high fives anymore and he has to concentrate on his job. It seems the council has cited health and safety reasons for the ban.” Council officers have been labelled ‘kill-joys’ over their stance, but this week councillors insisted the move was to protect the safety of children.

Cllr Michelle McGinty, the council’s education spokeswoman, said: “Of course we want to see someone happy at their job, that’s not what we’re saying. Our responsibility is to the children. If anything happens, we’re responsible and so is Nkosana.” Nkosana told the Reporter he has enjoyed the media attention and said the support he has received has been ‘wonderful’, but says he’s ‘just doing his job.’ David added:“He encourages children to go to the crossing and we never see kids going to cross the road without him. They want to see him, purely because of his high fives and the way he is. It’s short sighted of the council.

“Their answer is that he needs to have his arm outstretched, I agree with that, and he does, he waits till the traffic stops and he allows kids to across then gives them a high five. He’s very vigilent, the parents trust him.” The council previously praised Nkosana for his happy demeanor when he was featured in national papers before.

David added: “One minute they’re saying they love him, he’s a great guy and the next they’re telling him he can’t behave this way. Everyday there are cars beeping and kids waving at him. It’s such a nice change. It’s a shame.” “There’s a high strength of feeling, parents are very interested. I’ve never heard any one ever complain about him. He’s a 74 year old man and he’s out there in all weathers. It’s a bit unjust.” The popularity of the petition has led to Nkosana becoming a local celebrity, David added: “I did this to get some people in Bellsmyre interested. It’s take over my life in the last few days. It’s been right across the world, if you name a country, it’s been published there. I’ve had signatures from Canada, South Africa, and Singapore. Someone told me they saw Nkosana in town at the weekend and people were stopping him, shaking his hand, asking for selfies, he’s become a bit of a celebrity.” “Someone messged me saying that I’d really brought the community together, and I loved that, but it wasn’t me, it was Nkosana, he’s a pillar of the commuity and everyone backs him. I didn’t do this for my own gain, I just wanted some praise for Nkosana that he deserves. I’ve only lived here two years and I can’t believe the support we’ve had, the community have really rallied together. It’s great to see.” A council spokeswoman told the Reporter: “All patrollers are instructed when crossing children over a road to remain static with one hand on their stick and the other stretched outwards. This ensures that they can be seen and effectively provides a barrier between school pupils and the traffic.” Cllr McGinty added: “I personally have seen him at work smiling and happy and it’s brilliant. We’re not stopping him doing it on the pavement, we’re not saying he can’t enjoy his job. It’s just in the middle of the road he shouldn’t do it, he can do it on the pavement.

“I do understand why people have joined the campaign. Your first response will always be ‘Why what’s he doing wrong?’ but we have a responsibility to keep kids safe, we’re not trying to spoil anyone’s day. Any parent will know it’s not always about making popular choices, its about responsibility.” When asked if she personally had any parents contact her about the issue she said: “No, no parent has approached me to talk about it.” The council has said it won’t change its position, but David says that is now irrelevant: “If we’ve gained nothing, its shown the council for what they really are. If you want to ignore the media, that’s fine, but don’t ignore the community, it’s a poor council that doesn’t listen to it’s people. They’ve totally misjudged the community and the people who live here. They’re ignoring the people that vote them into a job.” Council leader Martin Rooney told the Reporter: “This is an entirely operational matter that was dealt with under delegated responsibilities by officers of the council. I fully accept that the media reporting of this incident will have greatly influenced public opinion. However, council officers have no option but to adhere to health and safety regulations and for all elected member in their role as corporate parents, the safety of children will always be of paramount importance. Any potential reputational damage the council may receive will always be secondary to our duty for the protection of children.”