Several schools across Lancashire – scared about pupils being hurt by discarded beer cans, bottles and worse – say it is no longer safe to allow kids to pick up rubbish by hand.
Some have scrapped the practice altogether, while others insist pupils wear gloves, carry pincers to collect litter and are supervised at all times.
Eeven the practice of children picking up litter appears to have become a victim of the country's growing health and safety culture.
Alan Lewis, headteacher at Longridge High School – where pupils are now supervised and given pincers – said it was no longer used as a punishment.
Instead, pupils volunteered to carry out a supervised litter patrol every two weeks.
He explained: "We abolished it when the litter that was being left began to give us health and safety concerns.
"But when we spoke to the kids about it, it was the kids themselves who volunteered. They have all got gloves and clippers and are supervised."
Penny Thompson, healthy schools co-ordinator at Corpus Christi Catholic Sports and Technology College, said: "We have done it in the past but times have changed and we have to be very careful.
"We have a number of litter bins around the place and we work very hard to encourage (pupils) to pick up their litter."
Liz Laverty, deputy headteacher at Walton-le-Dale Arts College, said: "We have litter picking sticks so at no point do they handle it. They should not pick up things themselves.
"Other people come on our premises at night – we have no control over it whatsoever."
A staff member at All Hallows Catholic High School, Penwortham, said it was no longer used as a punishment.
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