A PRIMARY school has warned parents any pupils caught with electronic cigarettes will be excluded after a group were discovered with the devices.

The crackdown has been launched at Burnley’s Lowerhouse Junior School and is thought to be the first case in Lancashire.

Headteacher Claire Holgate sent a letter to parents warning any children found with the vaping devices would be excluded.

The move comes after staff said they have confiscated an ‘increasing number’ of e-cigs from pupils over the past few weeks.

The school would not say how many e-cigs were found or the ages of the pupils involved but insisted they were not vaping at the time.

In a letter to parents, Mrs Holgate, said: “Children need to be aware that electronic cigarettes are not toys.

“It is incredibly concerning that nicotine based products, which are illegal to sell or provide to children under the age of 18, are on school premises.

“Schools are a place where children come to be safe, having dangerous and illegal, for children, products on site puts our children and staff at risk.

“Nicotine during young adulthood has been associated with lasting cognitive and behavioural impairments including effects on working memory and attention.

“Bringing electronic cigarettes onto school premises is a breach of Lancashire County Council’s smoke free policy.

“Any pupils found to be in possession of or bringing into school electronic cigarettes will be dealt with in line with the school’s behaviour policy and, as a result, may be excluded from school.”

Rosegrove councillor Bea Foster said she is ‘absolutely shocked’ and called for more education.

She said: “The eldest children at the school will be 11, but only a few.

“I am absolutely shocked that children of that age are taking e-cigarettes into school.

“Much more education needs to be done around the consequences of what can happen.

“Children think it is acceptable to smoke e-cigarettes but it isn’t, they are just as bad as cigarettes.”

The county council’s education boss has praised the headteacher’s handling of the situation and called on people to help discourage youngsters from smoking.

County Cllr Matthew Tomlinson, cabinet member for children, young people and school’s, said: “I would commend the approach taken by the headteacher which has been swift and effective.

“It’s hard to comprehend why this has happened and where they have got the e-cigarettes from.

“To my knowledge this is the first such incident in Lancashire.

“We must do all we can to discourage young people from taking part in any smoking-related activity.”

The Department for Education does not issue policy guidelines on e-cigarettes as it down to each individual school to police the issue.

Retailers were banned from selling e-cigs and e-liquids to people under the age of 18 in October last year.

Mrs Holgate said: “A letter was sent to parents to reinforce the message about the possible dangers of using e-cigarettes.

“We also wanted to make parents aware that we’re doing what we can in school to discourage young people from smoking or vaping in any form, by providing some age-appropriate education to all our pupils about the potential dangers.”

One parent, with a pupil at the Liverpool Road school, said: “Who gives their child e-cigs?”.

The school was rated as ‘good’ by Ofsted when it was last inspected in June 2014.