A NATIONAL retailer has banned Knutsford High School students from its King Street store.

Boots blamed pupils repeatedly stealing from the shop and causing chaos.

"High School students have been banned from going into Boots in their uniform," said a spokesman on Monday. "It is due to the high level of thefts and a few pupils have been caught stealing so this has happened on the back of the disruption they have caused."

Boots has written to headteacher Kevin Hollins to explain why the ban has been imposed.

On Monday, deputy headteacher Stephen Cunliffe said he was disappointed that Boots had chosen to ban all students.

"It is a shame a large number of students are being penalised for the actions of a few," he said.

About a year ago Booths supermarket banned High School students from its store after pupils were involved in 18 arrests for thefts.

Staff and shoppers had also complained of feeling intimidated by large groups of children.

Students later met store manager Jonathan Roskell and proved they understood why they had been stopped from shopping there and promised to change.

The ban was later lifted.

On Monday Boots said it could not stopstudents shopping at its store at the weekends when they were not in uniform.

But its spokesman declined to reveal how many incidents there had been involving Knutsford High pupils.

"Security is tight at Boots and we probably wouldn't want to give that out," she said.

"It was certainly enough incidents for them to take action."

It is not known what was on the children's shopping list.

But Boots are believed to have changed the way they sell razor blades because so many were being taken.

Customers now have to take a card from the shelves and swap that for the items at the counter.

Other shops in Knutsford have also restricted the number of students they allow in at any one time.

On Monday Mr Cunliffe said teachers regularly told the students to behave out of school.

"They'll always be people who let down their institutions whether it is their school, college or workplace," he said.

"We do work hard to teach them the difference between right and wrong and put emphasis on the consequences of their actions."