A SEVERE case of head lice saw one primary school pupil miss four days of school and her parents were ordered to pay £110 each.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, missed four days of school in June 2015. When her father appeared before Swindon magistrates on Monday afternoon he changed his plea to guilty. His wife did not attend court.

The magistrates heard the girl had only had 74 per cent attendance at school during the last academic year, and despite the warnings – and the summons to court – her attendance this year at school was only 64 per cent.

The parents had previously pleaded not guilty to the offence of the child missing four days in June 2015, citing medical evidence. But prosecuting on behalf of Swindon Borough Council, Zoe Bagwell told the court the school did not accept this excuse, as headlice treatment worked overnight.

The father presented the magistrates with photographs of the headlice on his daughter’s head in an attempt to highlight how severe they had been.

Chairman of the bench Jane Flew told him: “We are just querying why it took four days to go back to school.”

The man and his wife were both found guilty and ordered to pay £110 each which included a £60 fine and court costs.