HUNDREDS of youngsters have been sent home from school for at least a week because of an E. coli outbreak.

At least 22 pupils at Hayes Primary School in Bromley have been infected with a potentially fatal strain of the bacteria.

The school was shut down by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in co-operation with Bromley council last weekend and parents and children were turned away at the gates.

Nine more children and two more members of staff were also thought to have contracted the bug.

All 598 children and staff at the school have been asked to provide samples, which are being tested for the bacteria.

The alarm was raised after a bout of diarrhoea and vomiting hit the school.

In a letter to parents, Dr Rachel Heathcock, director of the HPA’s South East London Health Protection Unit, said the decision to close the school had not been made lightly.

She said: “We received preliminary results on Thursday, June 29, which indicated that the cause of the illness in one of the cases is likely to be E. coli 0157. As others at the school are showing similar symptoms, it is probable they have the same infection.

“While for most people this settles quickly and causes no more than a short illness, it can be serious. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, we have decided, in consultation with the school and education department, to close the school...until at least Monday, July 10.”

Dr Heathcock, who is a consultant in communicable disease control, added: “To ensure we control this outbreak, the school will be thoroughly cleaned while it is closed and all children and staff will have to provide a stool specimen that has been shown to be clear of infection, before being able to come back to school.

“The reason is that some people can carry the germ that causes the illness without becoming ill themselves.”

Environmental health officers were due to meet on Wednesday to discuss how long the school would remain shut. The cause of the outbreak is not known.