FURIOUS Louise Thomas today said she felt insulted over a warning that her son could be on the slippery slope to disobedience following a Red Nose Day dispute.

FURIOUS Louise Thomas today said she felt insulted over a warning that her son could be on the slippery slope to disobedience following a Red Nose Day dispute.

Mrs Thomas was ticked off for letting her eight-year-old Reece go to school with his hair sprayed red.

The admonishment came in a letter from the head teacher at Dale Hall Primary School in Ipswich who was concerned over school rules being flouted.

Mrs Thomas said: "I didn't spray his hair to get on anybody's nerves. I'm just totally insulted. It was over the top, it was far, far too much.

"She has really upset the children. They didn't mean to break any rules.

"My child is not a naughty child, he thought I was going to ground him. He came out quite upset.

"All we have done is supported Comic Relief. Another friend was far more upset," said Mrs Thomas of Macaulay Road, Ipswich.

While hundreds of children in Suffolk were going to school yesterday with red hair for Big Hair Day to raise money for Comic Relief, pupils at Dale Hall Primary had to make do with just wearing a red nose.

Simon Phillips, deputy head teacher, said: "The school decided it wouldn't be supporting Red Nose Day this year because we were doing that for the NSPCC this year. Mrs Beckett sent letters home to explain that.

"Five or six children did not follow the rules set in the letter."

During the assembly the children, who had red-sprayed hair, were called in to Mrs Beckett's office and told off for their charity-supporting hairstyles.

"There was no reason to be upset by it. The children have not been penalised in any way or given detention in any way. It was that Mrs Beckett felt the parents were flouting her decision," said Mr Phillips.

The parents of those children have been sent home a letter from Alison Beckett, the head teacher of the school, stating: "If parents allow children to disobey rules or requests we will find ourselves on a slippery slope to disobedience and lack of respect."

Mrs Beckett also wrote in the letter that as 99 per cent of pupils' parents had conformed to her request it was not fair that the six children should be allowed to get away with having red hair.

What do you think? Write in to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or email eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk or visit the forum at www.eveningstar.co.uk

n Comic Relief special pages 18 and 19.