Little Chantelle Bellingham won't be giving teacher an apple - because the youngster is banned from bringing the forbidden fruit into school.

Bradford's Parkland Primary School has declared a playground prohibition on all fruit, insisting healthy break-time snacks must be bought from its own tuck shop.

The school today defended the move, saying apples, bananas and oranges stuffed into pockets or bags presented problems of "hygiene and storage".

Its headteacher added the scheme had been a roaring success, with many children eating fruit for the first time.

But Chantelle's mum Suzanne has got the pip over the ruling and has refused to use the shop.

Mrs Bellingham, 29, from Allen-bridge Close, Thorpe Edge, said: "I won't be told where I have to buy my fruit from. It is a matter of principle. I am not a child."

The-mother-of-three said the incident was all the more maddening because the youngster only began eating fruit four months ago.

"Ever since she was a baby Chantelle would not eat any fruit or vegetables except carrots. If you mashed them up to disguise them she would always notice and push them aside."

The sweet-and-crisp free tuck shop sells youngsters half an apple or pear for eight pence which must be eaten during their morning break.

Mrs Bellingham said she received a letter from school after Chantelle was found with her own apple.

"I was told that if she was found with an apple it would be taken off her and returned at the end of the day. She had been hiding it in a pocket and then eating it a break-time - what harm could she cause by doing that?"

"It is ridiculous. Although I support the school and think it is great they are encouraging children to eat fruit, we should not be dictated to over where to buy it."

Mavis Giles, the school's headteacher said the concerns centred around "storage" - that fruit could be squashed in pockets or bags.

Mrs Giles stressed that children could still bring fruit in their packed-lunch boxes and that the tuck shop operated on a non-profit basis.

The scheme had won great praise from parents and health workers, she added. "The children are eating more than 100 kilos of fruit every week."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.