Parents are resorting to desperate measures in the battle with head lice with some admitting they have tried burning them out.

One mother from Brighton answered a survey, run by lice brand Hedrin, saying she has taken to using hair straighteners to try and torch the lice.

This was revealed as part of a nationwide survey carried out by the treatment company which interviewed 10,000 parents nationwide.

Alex Butler, the mother-of-three from Brighton, said: "I used hair straighteners on my daughter's hair to pop the eggs and burn the lice, lots of the other mums at school swear by it."

Vinegar, raw eggs, mayonnaise and even bleach were also revealed as regular "treatment" methods One in five parents admitted to shaving their child's hair in an attempt to eliminate the lice - which afflict one in five children in the UK at any one time.

Nearly a quarter of parents turn to the internet for advice on the problem - with ocial media sites and parenting networks are used to take school gate discussions online.

Ian Burgess, director of the Medical Entomology Centre, said: "There is a huge amount of incorrect head lice information online, which exists on the more popular sites parents are visiting. This gives worried parents misplaced confidence in ineffective methods.

"When they follow this advice, head lice are allowed to spread further and quicker.

“I've heard of mums dyeing their child's hair, in an attempt to kill the lice. They believe this was effective because they can't find lice, but in fact the lice have just been dyed along with the hair."