A schoolgirl who had her hair coloured pink as part of a lesson was later excluded from classes for breaking school rules when the dye did not wash out.

Lucyanne Ralph's hair was dyed under the supervision of a teacher during a hair and beauty studies class at Walthamstow Academy in Billet Road just before the Christmas holidays.

But it failed to completely fade and when she returned to classes on Tuesday a teacher sent her to an 'exclusion room' for the entire day as punishment.

The school has banned pupils from attending classes with coloured hair, although it has refused to explain the reason.

The 14-year-old's furious mother, Christine Hughes, said her daughter was kept in a room without any windows with a handful of misbehaving pupils and made to sit in silence for hours.

She said: "It's disgraceful. She tried to explain why her hair was dyed but they wouldn't listen.

"She was taken out of valuable lessons and locked in a small room like a criminal. It's like something out of Victorian times - and she didn't even do anything wrong.

"They wouldn't even let her go outside at break times. Instead of going for a hot lunch in the canteen they brought her a cheese roll.

"She was there until about 2.30pm when I found out and got her out of there."

The school's principal, Emma Skae, said she did not comment on individual pupils and that she hoped to meet with Ms Hughes in an attempt to resolve the matter.

But Ms Hughes said: "The teacher told her she would be in the exclusion room as long as her hair was dyed.

"But she's had enough and isn't even sure if she wants to go back there.

"The dye is supposed to go after a certain number of washes but it hasn't gone yet."