POLICE are investigating a fight between mums outside a Southampton school.

Two women, aged 30 and 31, came to blows outside Valentine Infant and Heathfield Junior in Southampton as they collected their children.

Parents picking up pupils yesterday told the Daily Echo that the women have children who attend both schools.

Police say that the fight involved a man, but were unable to confirm how it had started.

Yesterday officers were outside the schools at home time to reassure parents. They spoke at length to one parent until about 3.15pm when they entered the building.

A parent, whose four-year-old son attends Valentine Infant School, said that one of the mothers was left with a bleeding lip.

The man, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s not acceptable for parents to fight like that in front of children at home time.

“They were really going for it.

Punches were thrown and one of them had a bleeding lip.

“Kids were screaming – a lot of children were in the playground.

“One of them had two younger kids in pushchairs with them – they were younger than school age.

“I walked up to the school with one of the other parents.

He has kids that are six and nine and they were not too pleased.

“You expect to see them setting an example.”

Police confirmed the incident happened between 3.30pm and 4.40pm on Wednesday.

One parent told the Daily Echo that the altercation may have been triggered by an earlier incident at the school.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said: “It was after class hours. We came up with the children to put them in the car when this all started with a woman who came down the road.

“She came charging in the road.

“It was a cat scrap and a little slap across the face. It was a heated argument and pushing and shoving.”

A police spokesman said that officers had received calls from both women between 3.30pm and 4.30pm, both alleging that the other had assaulted them.

They confirmed that there were claims of punches to the face in both cases but no ambulance was called.

The women were spoken to by officers last night, the spokesman confirmed.

A statement issued by Southampton City Council on behalf of the schools said: “All of the members of staff at Valentine Infant School and Heathfield Junior School take their responsibility to safeguard children extremely seriously and diligently follow the safeguarding procedures in place to ensure that the children who attend our schools are kept safe.

“An alleged incident outside the Heathfield Junior School gates is being investigated by the police and we are assisting them with their enquiries.”