'I'm boiling clothes after school flea outbreak'

Parents at a junior and infants' school say they are taking extreme precautions following a flea outbreak.

LaceyField, in Louth, Lincolnshire, closed partway through Monday 13 July after what it described as a "localised flea issue". It reopened two days later and Wellspring Academy Trust, which runs the site, said two members of staff had "presented at A&E" in connection with the outbreak.

The trust said a professional pest controller dealt with the issue and the school stayed closed for an additional day beyond safety recommendations to allow for more ventilation.

Parent Sarah Stancer said she had been "boiling her children's clothes every night" after they had returned from school.

She said: "I make them strip off before they sit anywhere in my house because I don't want fleas in my house."

Fellow parent Gerri Tempest said she was also left feeling "nervous" and would be checking her daughter "every day for fleas".

"I check her after school," Tempest said, adding that she did not want to spend the summer "flea bombing the house".

The BBC understands one member of staff attended hospital with multiple flea bites, while another went because of breathing difficulties on returning to the school after the flea treatment.

The BBC has contacted the school for an update on their condition.

A spokesperson for the trust said "the health, safety and wellbeing of our pupils and staff are our absolute priorities".

However, some parents criticised the school for its response to the outbreak.

Stancer felt the school should have remained closed all week, a point Dean Stephens, who felt it was "not very well handled", shared.

"I think they should have been off for the week to be safe," he said.

Despite the criticism, not every parent agreed.

Amy Theobald said she did react with shock at first, but "can't fault the school" for its response.

"I think they did the right thing by shutting it and I don't think they've done the wrong thing opening it again," she said.

Katie Davis called concerns about the length of the closure "a load of rubbish".

"Obviously, it was a bit of a shock to get the message on Monday, that the school was shutting, but I think they've done everything that they can do."

Another parent, Claire Chamberlain, also dismissed concerns, saying "if the pest controllers and the school are happy it's safe, then I am too," she said.

The trust spokesperson added: "A specialist pest control contractor was brought in to treat the premises. The products used are standard, approved formulas commonly utilised in domestic and commercial settings."

They said a "standard four-hour ventilation window was required, but the school went above and beyond these guidelines by keeping the school closed and ventilated the buildings as recommended".

The site, which is home to Eastfield Infants and Nursery Academy, and Lacey Gardens Junior Academy, closes for the summer on Tuesday.

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