ANGRY parents have pulled their young daughter out of her school after she was given a leaflet to take home questioning the Mormon religion.

Scott and Sharon Brown moved young Stacey, aged 10, from St Peter's CE School, Eaves Lane, Chorley claiming she was being bullied by other pupils.

The family are members of the mormon The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which has just opened its Preston Temple in Chorley.

The grant maintained school has defended giving its pupils leaflets - produced by the Churches Together in Lancashire movement - to pass on to their parents.

Hundreds of them have been handed out - some by other Chorley schools, too.

Mr and Mrs Brown, of Canal Walk, say the bullying started the next day Stacey was in school after the children received the leaflets.

Mr Brown said youngsters had made comments to their daughter such as: 'You won't swear' - referring to her religious beliefs.

American Mr Brown, aged 27, said: "I'm very upset and distressed for my daughter's sake. The bullying and picking only happened after the leaflets had been distributed."

The Lancashire County Council social worker added: "I just think it is very rare that she has been going to school for a number of months now and hasn't had any problems."

Mr Brown said it did not matter that Stacey's leaflet was in an envelope.

He added: "They shouldn't even distribute leaflets through children in the first place."

Mr Brown and his 28-year-old wife have written a letter of complaint to the school's head teacher Jeffrey Gray accusing St Peter's of 'filtering propaganda through the children'.

They ask in the letter: "Do you realise that you are advocating a point of view that is both erroneous and harmful to good community relations and are using innocent children as a means of transporting this garbage?"

Stacey has returned to Buckshaw CP School which she attended before the family moved house.

Bryan Grant, press officer for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints described handing the leaflets out to the children as "despicable".

The school is currently closed for half term holidays. But Margaret Heald, chairman of the governors said she and Mr Gray agreed to the leaflets being given out following a request from Father Lionel Atherton, of St Peter's Church.

Mrs Heald said: "We are a church school. The reason why we have done this is because we try to keep our church informed of everything that goes on in the town."

She explained: "That's the way other information is sent out to parents and always has been."

Father Atherton claims the leaflets are not anti-Mormon and that they contain historical facts and beliefs about Mormonism.

Do you think we should be left alone to choose our own religious beliefs? Write to our Talk of the Town columns with your views.

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