School bans Heelys

3:00pm Monday 26th February 2007

A school has banned its pupils from wearing Heelys shoes amid fears over their safety.

Staff at Varndean School in Brighton have been told to keep a close watch for children wearing the wheel-heeled trainers around its corridors.

The school said: "We know these are great fun to wear but they are not appropriate footwear for school and are unsafe on the Varndean School site."

A letter has been sent to parents asking them to make sure the shoes are not worn to school.

A craze for the shoes has swept through the UK in the past few months but there have been concerns about their safety. They have already been banned from many shopping centres.

Seaford schoolboy Jarrad Twaits, 12, was left fighting for his life in January after he was hit by a car while crossing the road in a pair of the shoes. It is not known whether they were to blame for the accident.

His mother Sarah Rush, 36, of Vale Road, Seaford, has maintained a vigil at his bedside in King's College Hospital, London, since the accident.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has issued advice that Heelys should not be worn on roads or near the edge of pavements because of the potential for collisions with cars.

Spokesman Roger Vincent said: "We are also encouraging people not to use them in crowded areas."

He said schools and colleges needed to decide for themselves whether there was a risk on site.

Elm Grove Primary in Elm Grove, Brighton, has also issued a ban.

Headteacher John Lynch said: "Our school is in old Victorian buildings and we saw there was potential for accidents. We have two huge stairwells and we would not want anyone to get hurt."

He said the ban had been perfectly observed by the pupils.

RoSPA's advice, which was the same as that issued by US firm Heelys, was for users to take the same precautions that they would when skateboarding or roller skating.

Mike Staffaroni, president of Heelys Inc, said: "As parents ourselves we're passionate about the safety of our customers. As with bikes, skateboarding or inline skates, the right safety gear and precautions are very important.

"Heelys recommends that anyone wearing a pair of wheeled shoes wears a helmet, wrist guards, knee pads and elbow pads."

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