STUDENTS are being warned they are risking their health in a craze which sees teenagers making themselves pass out.

Teachers at schools in Colchester have spoken to students about the dangers and have made parents aware of the global stunt.

Teachers at Philip Morant School and Colchester High School said two teenagers came to them to raise the issue after seeing extreme videos of the latest craze online.

School bosses say six or seven pupils have been spoken to about the dangers after attempting the fad outside school. Daniel Fox, vice principal, said: “We are really pleased these students came to us because it means they can talk to us.

“They wanted to make sure we were aware it was going on.

“We investigated and discovered a very small minority of students had tried it outside of school at weekends. We have spoken to a low number, around six or seven.

“If we had been aware of one person trying this it would have been enough for us to take exactly the same action.” David Young, principal of Colchester High School, added staff are aware of the Pass Out Challenge and have spoken to pupils about the dangers of participating in the unsafe activity.

The challenge started in America and sees children trying to strangle themselves to unconsciousness.

Extreme videos have been posted on sites such as YouTube and Facebook, which have spread the craze.

Each of the children at Philip Morant who have tried the passing out craze have been spoken to by teachers, who have also spoken to their parents.

An email has also been sent to all parents about the craze.

Mr Fox added if any parents had further concerns following the email, they could speak to him.

He said: “Not every parent is aware of what their child sees online and we wanted to make sure they are.

“We have had good feedback from parents and they thanked us for letting them know.

“We wouldn’t be fulfiling our duties as a school if we hadn’t taken this action.”