Panto stars banned from throwing sweets
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Panto stars have been banned from throwing sweets into the audience in case children get hurt.
Organisers of the Babes in the Woods and Robin Hood production at Gorleston Pavilion Theatre, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, took the drastic step.
They fear they will be sued for negligence if youngsters are hit in the face by a stray chocolate, reports the Daily Mail.
The theatre is not covered by insurance for any injuries from sweets thrown by the pantomime dame, Mark Hudson.
Confectionery will now be dropped into the front row and passed around by ushers, ending the tradition of children catching the treats.
The show's director, Helen McDermott, said the ban was another example of the health and safety culture gone mad.
"Throwing sweets into the crowd is one of the great traditional parts of pantomimes and children have enjoyed it for years," she said.
The theatre director, Kevin Lynch, said it was a sad fact of life that people were being encouraged to sue.
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