A DEPUTY head teacher has warned pupils against performing a potentially dangerous classroom prank.

It follows an incident at Archbishop’s School in Canterbury when a 12-year-old pupil was left gasping for breath after being victim to a schooboy craze called "peanutting".

The boy had his tie yanked so hard by another pupil that it formed an extremely tight knot around his neck.

He could not slacken the knot and was struggling to breathe until a teacher came to his rescue and cut it free with a pair of scissors.

His mother complained to the school that she was unhappy with the way the incident had been dealt with and said her son was now fearful of wearing a tie.

Deputy head teacher Richard Whatley said the school had warned pupils against peanutting.

He said: "Peanutting is practiced by a number of youngsters but is not common place in the school.

"The school took immediate action to ensure the health and well-being of the pupil and the parents were fully informed.

"Appropriate disciplinary measures have been instituted against another pupil and the parents informed.

"The school is satisfied that it acted entirely appropriately and has full confidence that the actions taken were the correct ones."