HALLOWEEN has always been associated with creepy horrors, but this year the spooky date is also National Bug Busting Day.

And Fylde parents are upset that those particularly nasty bugs, head lice, are becoming a common problem across the Fylde.

One St Annes parent said: "It's a disgrace. Whatever happened to the nit nurse! There wasn't such a problem then.

"My daughter had to be treated four times because one class member was not treated at home by her parents. But the school don't take responsibility. It's dangerous to keep using the chemicals regularly, and also very expensive".

Nici Smith of Blackpool has two children aged eight and four.

She said: "It's the fact that you've got to use insecticide in their hair -- it can't be good for them. And then you eradicate the problem, but there always seems to be a cluster of children in school whose parents don't, and your kids keep getting them.

"My kids had them within the first three days of going back to school after the summer holidays."

Community infection control nurse for the North West Health Authority, Kate Brierley, said that there are no longer any "Nitty Norahs" -- the nurses who used to come into schools to inspect children's heads -- because the inspections didn't work.

"To do an inspection properly, it should be done on wet hair and should take about 15 minutes. So it's now considered that the head inspection is a parent's responsibility," she said. "The role of the school nurse is to support and advise on treatment and teach parents what to look for."

Information from the Health Authority states that head lice are thought to have become more common because some parents, or carers, no longer check for them as a matter of routine.

The Health Authority's head lice policy states that the role of the school includes asking the nurse to inspect children suspected of having lice to confirm diagnosis.

The school nurse should then contact the child's parent or carer, in person or by letter, to advise on treatment.

The school should advise parents who report cases of head lice to contact the school nurse for advice and support, and the school should keep individual reports confidential.

It adds that schools should have a written policy on the management of head lice.

Sister Brierley said that tracing the source or contact of the lice, and regular inspection of children's heads, were important factors in the prevention and detection.

"It's an on-going problem. We do want parents to take more responsibility for detecting, treating and contact tracing," she said.

For more information on head lice call (01597) 823964 or visit www.lice.co.uk.