Schools and care homes across Bradford are being locked down to prevent the rampant spread of a winter vomiting bug.

Environmental health bosses revealed today there have been 61 outbreaks in schools and nursing and residential homes so far this year.

One special school was closed, four primary schools were partially closed and 27 schools were preventing visitors coming onto their sites yesterday.

There were also restrictions in place at five nursing homes in the district.

Hundreds of children and teachers have been prevented from visiting other schools or taking part in trips. And scores of pupils stayed at home yesterday to allow staff to carry out a deep clean of their schools.

The Telegraph & Argus understands that Chapel Grange Special School in Rhodesway was closed yesterday while High Crags Primary in Shipley, Woodlands Primary in Oakenshaw, Horton Grange Primary in Great Horton and Frizinghall Primary were all partially closed. Bradford Council's director of environmental services Richard Wixey said up to 55 schools had been given advice on coping with a winter vomiting bug this year.

He said: "What we base it on is if staff feel there is an unusual number of pupils off with vomiting and diarrhoea then we treat is as a virus causing concern.

"The advice we give to parents is that if their children are ill then they should be kept off school 48 hours after the symptoms stop."

Mr Wixey said schools were advised to carry out a major cleaning operation if pupils had vomited in the school to prevent the virus spreading. And he said all schools with outbreaks were advised to disinfect every surface area which children come into contact with.

Frizinghall Primary in Salisbury Road closed off one classroom yesterday to allow staff to carry out a cleaning operation.

The school has been preventing visitors coming into the building since Tuesday after 39 children showed signs of gastroenteritis in the space of two days.

Head teacher Jennifer Smailes said: "When we have a certain number of children who are ill with the symptoms then it is classed as an outbreak.

"The restrictions mean that teachers cannot go on courses and children cannot go on trips or go swimming."

Heaton St Barnabus Primary in Rossefield Road has had to close its doors to visitors for the second time in a month.

Restrictions on access were lifted at the school a week and a half ago.

However, the school was told to impose restrictions again on Thursday after more pupils showed signs of sickness.

Deputy head teacher Barbara Cormican said the school was providing environmental health officers with information on the numbers of pupils off sick and following the advice they provided.

Greengates Primary School has also put restrictions in place because of pupil sickness.

Head teacher Trish Gavins said: "We want to contain it as much as possible so the staff are not going on any outside courses. We have cancelled our visitors to restrict people coming into school in that way. It's been a pain."

Mrs Gavins said that restrictions have been in place for the past two weeks.

"We thought it would get better but it's got worse," she said. "It has progressed through the year groups."

Around 20 per cent of the schoolchildren have been off ill with the bug.

Green Lane Primary School has had restrictions in place since the half-term holidays.

The Telegraph & Argus reported last month that three schools had been forced to close in the space of ten days because of winter vomiting Allerton Primary nursery in Garforth Street, Bowling Park Primary in West Bowling and Bankfoot Primary in Bolingbroke Street all closed in February.

Lilycroft Primary in Manningham, Challenge College in Frizinghall and High Fernley Primary in Wyke have all put restrictions in place to preventing visitors coming onto the site.

Anthony Mugan, the head of Bradford Council's education client team, said: "There are no schools in quarantine but there are currently a number of schools which have taken or are taking steps to restrict the spread of the gastroenteritis bug. The number varies each day as the infection is controlled or eradicated, or appears at another school.

"There will be others who have some pupils or staff who have been affected but the precise number changes on a day-to-day basis as the bug is widespread across the region.

"The virus is not originating in schools and the schools are taking all the precautions they can to prevent it from spreading."