Snowball fights threaten children’s safety at school, a Dagenham headteacher has claimed.

%image(14887424, type="article-full", alt="Piers Morgan (left) branded Jo Richardson Community School headteacher Ges Smith (right) a "killjoy" over his snowball fight ban. Picture: ITV/Good Morning Britain")

Ges Smith, who leads Jo Richardson Community School in Castle Green, says his pupils aren’t allowed to play with snow in the playground to stop them getting hurt.

“We’ve got a duty of care,” he said, adding: “The rules are don’t touch the snow, if you don’t touch the snow you’re not going to throw it.”

His comments yesterday on Good Morning Britain drew frustration from host Piers Morgan.

Morgan flippantly compared the school to a “prison camp” after branding him a “killjoy”.

“Kids love snow,” said the 52-year-old. “We only get snow, what – three, four days of the year.”

After being accused of leaving pupils “unprepared for normal life”, Smith said he was trying to protect the school and himself from lawsuits.

In 2004 the Daily Mirror, then edited by Piers Morgan, faced a legal bill of more than £1 million after losing a privacy case to supermodel Naomi Campbell.