A SCHOOL ban on all breaktime drinks apart from water has proved too much to swallow for some parents of pupils at Springside Primary.

Fizzy drinks, fruit juice and cordial have been forbidden in favour of bottled water during playtimes at the Walmersley school.

Crisps, chocolate and other snacks are also off the menu, with children allowed only fruit during breaks.

Staff say that the changes, which are part of a healthy eating programme, enjoy widespread support from most families and are in line with Government advice.

But parents angry at the new policy say that children who are unwilling to drink water are going thirsty.

They want a reversal of the ban, and say the school is acting outside its jurisdiction.

Springside Road resident Jackie Brayshaw, whose sons Douglas (9) and Robert (8) attend the school, said: "It is ridiculous, there is a matter of freedom of choice here.

"How can the headmaster tell a schoolchild what to drink or eat? Surely that's for the parents to decide.

"They won't make a concession. The only way children are allowed to have something else is if parents can prove they are dehydrated.

"It is ridiculous to have to go to the doctor to ask for your children to be able to drink something other than tap water.

"The staff are going through lunch boxes to see what is in them and sniffing the bottles to see if there is flavouring in the water.

"It has got to the stage where the kids don't want to go to school."

Rachel Whitby, of Walmersley Old Road, said her children Jacob (10) and Ella (7) would not drink water.

Mrs Whitby said: "I approve of fruit and healthy eating but to insist that they have water and nothing else is unrealistic.

"Why should every child be expected to drink water when the staff are drinking tea and coffee?"

Headteacher Michael Wright said that a parents' meeting was held and consultation letters sent to every family before the rules were introduced. He denied that lunch boxes were being searched and stressed that the policy applied only to break times.

He said: "The overwhelming majority of parents who responded were in favour of the policy. If children were allowed to bring in a drink other than water, it would undermine a decision that has been arrived at fairly and democratically.

"We are following a national campaign to improve the health of schoolchildren and other schools in Bury have rules on what can be eaten or drunk at break times.

"I have had a lot of support from parents, which has been a great help. The children now have access to water all of the time. They can have it on their desks, so, in theory, there is less chance a child would be dehydrated."