Covid: Anti-vax protesters target Blaydon children at school gates

Covid vaccines for 12-to-15 year olds began in the North East last month (stock image)

Anti-Covid vaccine protesters left school pupils in distress after showing them pictures of what appeared to be dead children, a head teacher has said.

Campaigners formed a picket outside Saint Thomas More Catholic School in Blaydon, Gateshead, on Monday where pupils were due to get their jabs.

Principal Jonathan Parkinson said the demonstrators had been falsely claiming the images had been caused by vaccines.

However, protesters failed to disrupt the school's vaccine programme.

Mr Parkinson said some of the children, aged between 12 and 16, were upset as they had their jabs.

The children were targeted on their way in to the school in Blaydon, Gateshead

He said: "We had six or seven protesters, there were two groups - one handing out leaflets and regaling us with their views through a loud hailer.

"There was also another group showing our younger children what appeared to be pictures of dead and disfigured children which they claimed was because of the vaccine which upset quite a few of the children.

"They stopped when we realised what they were doing and asked them to.

"We were left with a number of quite upset children."

Alice Wiseman, Gateshead Council's director of public health, said: "It is fine for people to have different views but giving out these sorts of messages outside schools is not the right place.

"It is quite concerning the misinformation being given out around the vaccine."