The parents of a seriously ill teenage girl have hit out at a devout Christian maths teacher who was sacked for ‘imposing’ her religious beliefs on their daughter.Furious Paddy and Stephanie Lynch broke their silence after their 14-year-old daughter’s tutor claimed she had been persecuted for her religious beliefs.

Olive Jones, 54, of Weston-super-Mare, claims she was sacked last month for offering to pray for their seriously ill teenager, who suffers from leukaemia, during a home visit.

The couple, who wish their daughter to remain anonymous, say that the maths tutor knew they were a “non-religious” family and that their child was “distressed” when Mrs Jones talked to her about heaven in visits to their home.

Mrs Lynch, who quit her job with the Higher Education Funding Council in April to care full-time for her daughter, blasted her claims that Mrs Jones had been persecuted.

The couple say they repeatedly asked Mrs Jones to stop discussing Christianity with their daughter – and had no option but to contact the local council over the matter. They lodged a formal complaint about Mrs Jones, 54, and she spoke out, claiming managers then dismissed her – an allegation they deny.

Mother-of-two Mrs Jones said she had been made to feel like a criminal, and claimed that Christians were being persecuted because of political correctness.

But Mrs Lynch, of Clevedon, said yesterday: “My daughter has leukaemia and has not been to school this academic year.

“The local authority provide a tutoring service so that my daughter doesn’t fall too far behind her classmates.

“Mrs Jones was employed to teach maths but used every opportunity to discuss religion, despite the fact I made it clear we were a non-religious family and didn’t want to talk about these issues in this way.

“On one occasion she asked my daughter to pray with her – my daughter was distressed by this behaviour. On another, after the death of my daughter’s close friend, Mrs Jones told my 14-year-old daughter that when young people die they go to heaven.

“These conversations upset my daughter deeply. The sessions with Mrs Jones became increasingly traumatic and we decided it was not appropriate for this woman to come to my home.”

In 2005, Mrs Jones was appointed in a part-time position at the North Somerset Council-run Oak Hill Short Stay School and Tuition Service North, in Nailsea, which caters for children with illness or behavioural difficulties.

In September, Mrs Jones made six visits to the girl, whom she was mentoring in GCSE maths. But on one visit the girl was too ill to study. She says she discussed her faith with the child’s mother and told how she once experienced a miracle from God when surviving a tractor accident as a teenager.

On a later visit she again discussed Christianity with the girl and her mother, speaking of her belief in heaven.

Mr Lynch, 45, said: “Mrs Jones’ actions caused our family much distress at what is a difficult time.

“We no longer wanted Mrs Jones to come to our home at any time in the future and we asked the tuition service to deal with the matter.”

The family asked to be left in peace to concentrate their efforts on helping their daughter to get better.

Andrea Williams, director of the Christian Legal Centre, made a statement on Mrs Jones’ behalf.

She said: “Olive Jones stands by her account. She has immense sympathy with the family involved.”

Zoe Briffitt, spokeswoman for North Somerset Council, said: “We feel we were right to investigate the concerns raised by a parent about Olive’s actions in relation to their poorly child.

“We have invited Olive to meet with us to discuss the incident and the related issues and we very much hope that she will accept the opportunity to meet with us in the near future.

“However, we are keenly aware of the importance of an individual’s spiritual belief, and we recognise that Olive felt that she was acting in the best interests of her students.

“For some people of faith, prayer is seen as an integral part of providing support to an individual or family. But for teachers and tutors, whose principal role is giving educational support, the views of the parent and students involved must be respected.

“It is acceptable to offer prayer but not to impose it against a family’s wishes. Teachers like Olive do not have to set aside their faith, but personal beliefs and practices should be secondary to the needs and beliefs of the student and their family and the requirements of professional practice.”

The Lynches were devastated when their daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia in April.

She embarked on a two-year course of aggressive chemotherapy, which involves a cocktail of up to two dozen tablets a day and leaves her seriously ill.

Over the following months she was in and out of Bristol Children’s Hospital and was forced to leave full-time education.

She started to attend the council-run Oak Hill Short Stay School and Tuition Service North, which caters for children with illness or behavioural difficulties.

Teacher 'made to feel like a criminal' after offering to pray for pupil