A POP fan claims he has been suspended from school for having his hair bleached like his idol Eminem.

Michael Crossley says he was sent home from Mount St Joseph's, Farnworth, after he arrived with a blond mop top, like the controversial American rap star.

The 14-year-old, of French Grove, Darcy Lever, claims he was told by headteacher Penny Walker that his new hairdo did not match his complexion and he should not return until it had grown out.

Michael's father was outraged when his son told him he had been suspended from the Greenland Road school.

Mr Crossley said: "Michael is just going with the fashion. Eminem is the in thing, he's always on the box.

"His hair isn't green or pink, it's blond. Girls have their hair dyed blonde and they don't get suspended."

According to the usually auburn-haired Michael, his headteacher said his bleached locks did not match his eyebrows, freckles and brown eyes.

He said: "She basically said I would have to tone it down before I came back to school. I'm upset about what's happened, because the way I look doesn't affect the way I can learn."

Michael's mother Lynne dyed his hair earlier this week while she was putting streaks in her own.

Mr Crossley said he understood schools had to have certain rules, like with smoking and drugs, but claimed excluding someone because their hair does not match their complexion is ridiculous.

He said: "Other lads at the school have bleached blond hair. But they haven't been suspended because it supposedly matches their complexion. Michael is being victimised for the way he looks."

Mr Crossley said he is now worried the Year Nine pupil will miss school at the most important time in his educational life.

The headteacher did not comment about Michael being sent home from school, but a spokesman said as far as she knew no pupil had been excluded for bleaching their hair.

Rap star Eminem has become an idol for many teenagers in the country, at the same time courting controversy.

His often X-rated lyrics about homophobia, taking drugs and violence towards women, have infuriated many people and led to an MP last week calling for him to be kicked out of the country during the British leg of his European tour.