Cancer fear over baseball cap ban

Toby Gould's mother believes he should wear his baseball cap

A mother is claiming her son is at risk of developing skin cancer because he has been banned from wearing a baseball cap at his school in Hastings.

Soozie Gould said Hillcrest School in Rye Road is taking an unnecessarily harsh line over the school uniform.

She said her son, Toby, 13, has very fair skin and burns even if he uses factor 30 sunscreen.

Headteacher Lindsay Hart said the issue was adherence to school uniform rules, not protection from the weather.

'Aware of dangers'

Toby, who has had his baseball cap confiscated five times in the last three months, said he only wore it in the playground at breaktimes.

His mother said: "I have great concerns because we have lost a member of our family from cancer.

"It was not related to skin cancer but it makes you more aware of the dangers and I can't believe they would stop a child from protecting himself."

The school, a mixed comprehensive for 11 to 18-year-olds, said students were encouraged to be careful on sunny days.

But Ms Hart said: "Toby is a case where unfortunately, in the winter months and into the spring and summer, he was insistent on wearing a cap when sun was clearly not the issue."

The school has now written to all parents asking them for their views.