SCHOOLCHILDREN have been banned from playing football in the playground after they copied the "fouling and cheating" of their World Cup heroes.

Pupils at Plymtree Primary, near Cullompton in Mid Devon, were told they can no longer kick about in the grounds after the game stopped other children playing safely in the yard, which is about the size of a tennis court.

Instead, youngsters have been told they can only play on a nearby playing field at lunchtimes.

A sign on the school noticeboard said the activity is "not safe and it causes too much bad feeling". Pat Fay, head teacher at the Church of England school, said a "caring" attitude was important among pupils, and said those standards declined during the World Cup.

"Children watched their heroes and role models on the television and then copied the fouling and the shirt pulling and the cheating that went on.

"They saw famous players behaving badly and when they got into the playground thought it was okay to kick another player or grab their jumper and pull them over.

"We also had an incident when a teacher was hit in the face with a ball so hard it almost knocked her out."

She said the field meant there was more space and children could be better monitored.

Ms Fay insisted the school is "not against football." Its team were local champions last season.

The school is a member of the School Sport Partnership and has an Activemark 2007 award, and offers a wide range of out- of-school sporting events.

Parent governor Siddy Langley said the World Cup encouraged children who did not normally play football to get involved. She said: "It brings out the sportsman in all of us, so it possibly got a bit rowdier."