Two nurseries in Richmond have banned glittered because of environmental concerns.

Margaret Baron, director of Whitton Day Nursery and her son Stefan, who is the director of Twickenham Day Nursery, jointly decided to bring in the ban.

Mrs Baron said: “We read an article about how it damages the environment and gets into rivers and the sea in the same way as plastic microbeads.

“It’s full of toxins and is already starting to impact marine life.

“We just decided no, we don’t want to do that, we care about the environment.”

Most glitter is made up of tiny pieces of plastic, which is putting marine life at risk and in turn humans when we consume it.

An estimated eight million metric tons of plastic waste enters the oceans from land each year.

A spokesman for Richmond and Twickenham Friends of the Earth said: “We think it's great and applaud the nurseries involved.

“We are sure the small children won't actually notice.”

RTFoE recommends using biodegradable glitter, which is vegan and eco-friendly.