A school asked the Taunton Times to crop a child out of their fancy dress day photo spread – because he was wearing a Red Indian outfit.

The paper was invited to cover a “villains” day at a local primary school, where the youngsters dressed up as fictional villains for the event.

But the head later asked the picture desk to remove the lad in question from the pictures.

Editor Debbie Rundle said: “There were the usual wicked queens, Captain Hooks and one child dressed up as a Red Indian chief.

“When we contacted the school to check on captions we were astounded to hear the head teacher requesting us to crop the little buckskin-clad lad out of the pic because he did not want the school – or us presumably – depicting native Americans as villains.

“Where did that leave the children with hooks on their hands, those wearing eye-patches, let alone the Artful Dodger?”

He told the paper that if it could find a fictional Red Indian villain, he would reconsider.

Troublesome pic?

Staff came up with a couple and, after some persuasion he backed down – reluctantly – saying he did not feel at all comfortable.

Debbie said: “Just how correct can you get? We have no intention of being racially offensive, and I am sure the child in question, and his family, would have been equally astounded that a simple bit of dressing up could be deemed out of order.”