A school turned a father away from his son's first sports day after banning parents who have not been checked by police from mixing with pupils.
The taxi driver had gone to watch his son, a year seven pupil - the first year of secondary school - compete in sprints and egg-and-spoon races.
But teachers refused to let him spectate because they did not believe he had undergone checks by the Criminal Records Bureau. The rules are aimed at protecting children from paedophiles.
Rather than argue, the 'mortified' father left quietly so he would not embarrass his son as he took part in the games at the 1,200-pupil De Lisle Catholic Science school in Loughborough, Leicestershire.
Ironically, the father said that he regularly underwent Criminal Records Bureau checks for his job as a taxi driver.
The father wants to maintain his anonymity for his son's sake, but told a Talksport radio programme " I couldn't believe it when they told me I wasn't allowed in because I didn't have the relevant CRB checks.
"I'd called the school that morning to ask if it would be OK if I came along and they said it would be no problem. But when I got to the school the assistant head teacher said that as I hadn't had a CRB check then I couldn't watch.
"Rather than kick up a fuss and embarrass my son I just turned around and walked away. I was fuming. She made me feel like it was wrong to want to watch my son take part in his first sports day."
The school has defended their decision in a statement, saying " We fully appreciate that one parent was upset by our policy regarding the attendance of parents at sports days.
"As standard procedure, all our policies are subject to regular review and are changed to meet the needs of our students.
"We regret that on this occasion one parent was upset and we look to review our policy appropriately."
What do you think? Are CRB checks making us mistrustful of every adult who comes into contact with children?
Source: Daily Mail