A Mother is keeping her daughter out of school rather than give in to an earrings ban.

Helen Ramsey, 14, was one of several pupils sent home from Sunderland's Monkwearmouth School in a uniform crackdown.

All returned without their jewellery except Helen, whose mother Linda, 48, is keeping her at home.

She said she would not remove her daughter's stud earrings because they had just been pierced for the second time.

"Helen's ears have just been pierced and the studs need to be in for six weeks, or the holes will heal up," she said.

"They are only little studs, and I think it is ridiculous to ban them.

"I will keep her off school. She has always worn them in the past, but now there is a different headmaster and everything has changed."

Headteacher Alex Machin said: 'I want all our students to feel proud of themselves and the school.

"From now on, only the very highest standards of appearance and smartness will do for Monkwearmouth."