A row has broken out after a school in Kent told one of its students that she could not wear her crucifix necklace because it breached health and safety rules.

Samantha Devine, a 13-year-old Catholic pupil at the non-denominational mixed Robert Napier School in Gillingham, Kent, was given the cross as a Christmas present but was told by the school that it contravened its health and safety policy.

Samantha argued: "Everyone says they believe in God by going to church, but I believe in him my own way.

"If I've got a problem, I always get it [the crucifix] and talk to it, and I feel that helps me," she said, according to the BBC.

Her father dismissed the request from the school as political correctness gone mad, while Samantha said she should be allowed to wear a symbol of her Christian faith.

Danny Devine, 30, said: "It's just political correctness gone absolutely mad. It's a harmless crucifix and she wears it as a symbol of her religion.
"I'm sure the school wouldn't dare ask anyone of another religion to remove a symbol representing their faiths or beliefs. This has upset the entire family."