Watford Mayor Dorothy Thornhill will face calls to apologise for her “damaging public comments” following the decision to “ban” parents from council-run play sessions at Harwoods Adventure Playground.

The motion from Labour councillor Nigel Bell will be heard at tonight's meeting of Watford Borough Council.

And it follows an appearance by angry parents and Watford MP Claire Ward on national television last night during a programme that questioned whether child protection rules had “gone too far”.

Following the national media coverage that followed the council's decision to stop parents from staying with their children at Harwoods Adventure Playground, which hosts play sessions run by council-vetted staff, the BBC's One Show cameras visited the town.

Presenting an item on last night's programme, Kaye Adams said: “Where do we draw the line between child protection and over protection?”

She explained that following the conviction of Ian Huntley, the school caretaker who murdered two young girls from Soham, most people embraced tighter checks on adults who work with children.

However, the presenter questioned whether, following the case of police officers Lucy Jarett and Leanne Shepherd who faced prosecution for looking after each other's children and the “ban” on parents at Harwoods, child protection measures in Britain had “gone too far”.

Speaking to the cameras outside Harwoods Adventure Playground, in Harwoods Road, Becky Makinson said she no longer took her sons to the play sessions after hearing the council's decision.

She said: “I felt really disappointed and devastated that they had made this decision. I felt it painted a really bad picture of me as a parent that I was not to be trusted watching my own children in a playground that I have used for years.”

Mo Koyejo said: “Since when are we not allowed to play with our children? I don't understand. I just don't get it.”

Ms Ward added: “They have blamed it on Government policy and it's been quite clear it isn't Government policy. It isn't Ofsted policy either. What we actually need now is a bit of common sense.”

In a statement read on the programme, the council said the decision affects only two supervised playgrounds, Harwoods and Harebreaks Adventure Playgrounds, while there are “plenty” of other parks and play facilities where parents and their children can use.

Summing up the issue, Adams said: “There's a real danger that unless we begin to apply common sense, over zealous regulations could do more harm than good.”

Following last night's programme, the issue will now be heard within council chamber at Watford Town Hall during tonight's full council meeting.

Mayor Dorothy Thornhill will speak about the issue in her report before a motion proposed by Councillor Bell will call on her to “apologise” for her “damaging public comments” in the wake of national coverage.

For a full report on tonight's meeting, check for updates on this website.