GLASGOW has so many fat children because parents insist on dropping them off at the school gates.

That was the view of Baillieston councillor James Coleman as he hit out at drivers who park dangerously near schools across the city.

He was speaking as one of the East End’s top cops claimed teachers regularly face abuse for moving drivers on outside Garrowhill Primary School.

Inspector Alan McIntyre also admitted that officers can’t take action unless parents are deemed to be causing an obstruction on the road.

He said: “It is an endemic problem across Glasgow. There has been work to try and implement parking zones.

“Because parking has been taken away from police, unless drivers are causing obstruction there’s nothing we can do.

“I’ve spoken to the headteacher at Garrowhill and she’s hitting her head off a brick wall. She’s sent letters out, she’s got kids involved in projects to try and highlight it to the parents.

“The abuse the teachers get from trying to move people on from parking; they shouldn’t have to deal with that.

“I think it’s just down to lazy parents who drop the kids off right at the front gate.”

Inspector McIntyre said that officers were sent to schools across Glasgow every morning to try and combat dangerous parking.

James Coleman told the Baillieston Area Partnership that parents driving to the school gates was causing problems for kids.

He said: “That’s why we’ve got so many fat weans.

“These people are dropping off their weans then they’re sitting there for another 20 minutes, then they come back and they are sitting for half an hour waiting on them. That’s the problem.

“We tried to zone it so small kids could be dropped near the school and bigger kids further away. We tried that for a few months then it went back to normal.

“It’s one of these things that we’ve just got to keep banging away at.”

His comments came after a report by the Information Services Division Scotland in December classed 16 per cent of Glasgow’s primary one as overweight, obese or severely obese.

In December 2015, police launched a crackdown on motorists at the Garrowhill Primary School gates.

Officers and council traffic staff staged a blitz after claims that kids’ safety was at risk.

It came just months after the school opened as staff complained that the area was a drop-off disaster zone.

A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “The safety of children and young people is, of course, our top priority but everyone has a part to play in this.

“Our schools are constantly reminding parents and carers about the importance of parking and dropping off their children safely and in the correct designated areas.

“Our schools also actively encourage walking to school – especially now the weather is getting better and the lighter mornings.”