A mother has revealed how her 10-year-old daughter's school had her help to grit the playground with her bare hands in icy weather.

As the Beast from the East continued to batter the UK, the shocked Mumsnet user posted on the forum to say her daughter, who suffers with eczema, had been left with bleeding hands due to the 'corrosive' grit.

She said that, while she was happy the school tasked her daughter and her fellow Year 6 classmates with practical jobs such as setting out chairs for assembly, asking them to grit the playground went 'beyond what I consider acceptable'.

Fellow mums replied in droves to express their surprise, with calling it tantamount to using children as 'free labour'.

A British mother said her daughter was tasked with helping to grit the school playground - without gloves - the last time it snowed (file photo)

The mother, posting under the handle Whowhatwhy, explained on Mumsnet that her daughter's school regularly asks pupils to pitch in with practical tasks, as a way of teaching them responsibility.

But she said the school sometimes takes its policy too far - pointing out that she was forced to complain last summer when the children 'spent two days cleaning a pond of nettles'.

The mother said they didn't have gloves, and most 'ended up covered in nettle stings'.

Afraid of a repeat of the previous playground incident in light of the snowstorms whipping across the UK, the mother asked if her stance was unreasonable.

'Last time it snowed, the y6 students were asked to grit the playground,' she said,

'This involved using their hands to spread the grit, which is corrosive, onto the playground. My dd has eczema on her hands and they were bleeding by the time she had finished.

'AIBU to have complained about this and asked that this doesn't happen again? Sometimes I feel like the only parent at the school who speaks up about these issues (maybe I'm not but I don't know).'

The Mumsnet user said her daughter has eczema and was left with cold and bleeding hands after completing the task

But her fellow parents backed up her argument.

Idontdowindows said: 'I don't usually do the rage thing at schools, but this would have had me rage. You are definitely not unreasonable and I would be having stern words with that school and forbid them from having my child do these things.'

'I don't think any of that is acceptable, they are using them as free labour!' ChocolateButton15 commented.

'They are there to learn not dish up dinners and grit the playground! I've never heard of a school doing this.'

Other Mumsnet user were horrified, with one comparing the school's behaviour to 'free labour'

Some parents said that, while the school should provide pupils with protective clothing, there was nothing wrong with them doing helpful tasks.

Anxious2017 said: 'Nothing wrong with the tasks. Lots of the schools I've taught in have whole school gardening days where the children maintain the grounds, clear nettles and brambles, repair fences etc.

'However, parents are notified weeks in advance and children bring appropriate clothing, tools and gloves to school.'

'It's fine for them to do it but ridiculous not to equip them properly with protective clothing,' Bluelady said.