Pantomime dames in a West Sussex town have abandoned the tradition of throwing sweets to audiences for fear of sparking food allergies. It follows advice from Worthing Borough Council that children could suffer adverse effects from eating the sweets.
Instead, some children at the Connaught Theatre's Sleeping Beauty panto will be invited onto the stage to receive a goodie bag, which does not have sweets.
According to recent statistics, food allergies affect one in 20 children.
A spokeswoman for the theatre said: "Last year our Dame got a tennis racquet and was whacking them [sweets] into the audience."
A council spokesman added that the practice of throwing sweets to children had actually been stopped a few years ago.
"It's something we say to the cast not to do," he said.
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