Ref.10298CALNE father Craig Gascoigne has kept his pledge to defy a school ban prohibiting parents from videoing sports day.

As a result, the proud dad has managed to capture his eight-year-old daughter Morgan winning a 50-yard dash on film.

Calne's Holy Trinity Primary School said it decided to enforce the ban to protect the safety of children in their care at the bequest of some parents' wishes.

But Mr Gascoigne, 54, of Charlieu Avenue, who has filmed every one of his Morgan's sports days in the past five years, left the school grounds before his daughter's 50-yard dash and filmed it from behind a hedge.

Mr Gascoigne, originally from Zimbabwe, said: "It was undoubtedly the best organised, most successful, most competitive and most memorable sports day I have ever been to in the five years my child has been at the school.

"But while I was there, a number of disgruntled parents were extremely upset, especially when the day was so successful, that they weren't to capture the images of their children racing."

Mr Gascoigne, a self-employed public relations consultant, said the ban on filming at the sports day held on Tuesday was unjust and the governing board did not consult properly with the parent body before it was imposed.

But the chairman of the school governors, Mike Wells, said it was precisely because of parents' concerns that the governors agreed to the ban.

"We had concerns about protecting our children and in particular about the use of video cameras," he said.

"When parents express concerns the easy option is to ignore them, but the harder course is taking action."

Parents were initially informed about the ban in a one-line statement made by the governors on the end of a school newsletter five weeks ago.

But in a newsletter reminding parents of the school's policy, distributed on the Friday before the sports day, the governors admitted their initial decision could have been communicated differently, with more explanation.

The newsletter said: 'Having addressed the rationale for the decision, we have also considered our management of how this information was delivered to you, the parents. The reaction to our decision, which we had genuinely taken to protect the children and keep their interest as the focus, took everyone by surprise, and with hindsight we realise this information should have been conveyed differently.'

The newsletter said that the governors had met again after the ban was made, when the decision was again confirmed.

"Apart from our initial announcement we have absolutely no regrets about the ban," said Mr Wells. "It was the right decision. We are not the first school to do this and we won't be the last."

Mr Gascoigne said he has been inundated with letters and calls from people who support his stance. But he admitted he has also had several telephone calls from people who back the school.