A NINE-year-old girl was rushed to hospital after a swarm of wasps attacked pupils in a South Yorkshire primary school playground - stinging more than 30 children as they tried to escape.
The terrified nine-year-old was stung 14 times, and other horrified children got wasps stuck in their hair and clothes.
Youngsters had returned to Herringthorpe Junior School in Rotherham after the summer break, but staff were unaware wasps had built a large nest under an outdoor stage in the playground.
The wasps were disturbed by the noise of the children at playtime, and one pupil initially was stung.
"Once one child was stung, a chemical was released into the air which caused the wasps to swarm," said headteacher Jane Fearnley. "As many as 30 children were stung, with the wasps getting stuck in their hair and their clothes.
"The girl who had to be taken to hospital was stung many times - she had wasps trapped inside her clothing and suffered a lot of stings to her back."
Jane added: "It was very traumatic for us all. The children were very upset and for many of them it was very painful - but they were not hysterical.
"Several members of staff were stung as well."
Jane said the nest had gone undetected during the six-week summer holiday, even though the caretaker had made checks of the grounds. "It was a totally unforeseen event.
"We had to take the decision to close the school for a day as we couldn't guarantee the yard was safe," Jane said.
"We sought advice and were told wasps usually leave the nest at night, so the nest could not be tackled.
"The playground would not have been safe and we could not be sure parents and babies coming on to the premises before school would not be stung.
"It would have been too dangerous to risk."
Pest control officers have now dealt with the nest and the school has also been checked by a site manager, with lessons due to return to normal today.
"It has been an unfortunate start to the term - we stayed open last year during the floods and stayed open during strikes, and now this has happened," Jane said.
She added staff were commended at hospital for the way the situation was handled.
The infant school which shares the same site was unaffected by the problems.
What do you think? Add your comment below.READ MOREMain news indexYour letters.
FeaturesMore Rotherham newsMore Doncaster newsMore Barnsley newsSouth Yorkshire's green news in Green SceneCheck out the very latest on South Yorkshire's roads - including live traffic cameras on Sheffield's commuter routes - with our Traffic sectionLatest sport. The full article contains 464 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
