A group of MPs have called for urgent action to protect children from the dangers of asbestos, which can still be found in schools up and down the country.

According to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health, the presence of asbestos - which is comprised of potentially lethal dust fibres - in school buildings was a "national scandal".

Some 75 per cent of state schools are exposing children, teachers and other staff to asbestos, the MPs said.

Jim Sheridan, the group's chairman and the Labour MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, commented: "This is a national scandal. Urgent action is needed to prevent more pupils, teachers and other staff being exposed to this deadly killer dust.

"We need both far greater awareness of the risks that this material poses and a programme for its phased removal."

The Department for Education has estimated that around three-quarters of schools contained asbestos.