A HOUSING association has been pressured into shredding questionnaires which asked 12-year-olds prying personal questions.

Skinners' Kent Academy students were asked by Town and Country Foundation's Youth Crew – part of Town and Country Housing Group – to say if they had been victims of bullying, if they felt safe and "whether they had been asked to do anything they didn't want to do".

Tunbridge Wells borough councillor Frank Williams branded the questionnaire "completely inappropriate".

"If the children answered yes were they planning to give them support?" Mr Williams asked.

But Town and Country's head of communities Jackie Sumner said the purpose of the questionnaire was to find out "what matters most to the young people who live in areas where we provide homes".

She said the results would have remained anonymous and youngsters had been asked for their names only to be entered into a prize draw as a thanks for taking part.

She added: "The questions were not designed to be intrusive but we felt it important to ask about bullying because sadly it does affect some children. If we know the scale of the problem it can be tackled more effectively."

The school said it had vetted the questions and was "supporting a local community organisation" by allowing pupils to take part.

However, after the school was contacted by concerned county councillor Kevin Lynes, academy principal Sian Carr said the filled-in questionnaires would be destroyed.

Ms Carr said parents had been asked beforehand whether their children could take part.

"It was all in good faith and I wouldn't want it to cause concern to anyone," she added.