TWO warring mums have been banned from the playground over their bitter squabbling in front of young pupils.

School bosses say they took action to protect pupils after they’d had enough of the parents’ foul-mouthed rants at each other.

They feared the feud could become violent and have even called in police to investigate.

One of parents has a child at the Weston Park Infant School while the other’s daughter goes to the neighbouring junior school.

But now they have been ordered to stay away from the grounds of the school their child does not attend.

Leaders at the Southampton school say they have been forced into the drastic step.

But one of the women believes she has been unfairly victimised, and the ban is putting her young children at risk because she now has to walk along a busy road with them.

Weston Park Infant and Junior schools say they intervened after a heated war of words between the two parents escalated.

They added that it led to foulmouthed exchanges in front of youngsters in the playground that have nearly seen the two come to blows.

Emma Kerrigan-Draper, co-head teacher at the junior school, said: “We’ve taken action to stop there being the potential for any further aggression or violence on the school playground.

“We’ve done that because we will do whatever we need to do to ensure the pupils’ safety and well-being is safeguarded, because that’s at the top of our priorities.

“We want parents’ behaviour to be an appropriate role model for pupils at all times.

“The issue is now being dealt with by police and we are also working with the legal team at the council.”

The exact cause of the row is unclear but both mums have differing accounts of how it started.

It is understood to have escalated when they fell out following a separate dispute at the school involving another parent which has since been resolved.

But mum Michelle Kreft said she believes she has been treated unfairly, and is worried for her children’s safety as she has to walk down the busy Newtown Road to get to school.

The 32-year-old has three children, the eldest of which, Hannah, six, goes to the infant school.

She has been told she can’t walk through the junior school site, which provides a shortcut from her home in Wallace Road to the infant school.

Michelle said: “My child can’t even attend an after-school karate class because it’s held at the junior school and I’m banned, it’s ridiculous. .

“I’ve also got a two and four-year-old who I do the school run with, and although I’ve done nothing wrong I’ve got to walk two busy roads with no lollipop lady or crossing, and the police have told me it’s dangerous.”

Meanwhile the other mum at the centre of the row, married mum-ofthree Donna Woodnut, whose youngest child Abbey, eight, attends the junior school, said she just wants the feud to be over.

The 39-year-old, of Staplehurst Close, who works in a nursery, added: “I feel sorry for the school.

“I’m sick and tired of it – we’re adults, we should be carrying on like adults, not children.”

A Hampshire police spokeswoman said officers have spoken to both women about their future conduct.