PUPILS at a Worcestershire school have been told to stay at home after a possible asbestos contamination.

Pershore's Cherry Orchard First School will be closed until next Monday after county council officers discovered potentially lethal asbestos fibres had been disturbed.

The school was due to have some new cables laid.

County property services staff visited the school on Saturday to prepare for the task.

As they carried out checks to see if any asbestos had been disturbed by their work, they found it had.

The Cherry Orchard school will be closed until the council is satisfied all fibres have been cleared from the air.

The council said the schoolchildren, aged from four to nine, had not been in any danger.

"We're really very sorry for the inconvenience caused to the parents, staff and children at the school," said core property manager Andrew Jarvis.

"I'd like to reassure everybody there was no risk to children before the work was undertaken.

"We're making every effort to carry out an in-depth clean-up at the school as quickly as possible. We'll be reviewing the situation on a day-to-day basis."

Asbestos can be found in most buildings built before 1975. It is only dangerous if it is disturbed and fibres are released into the air.

The council will use hi-tech vacuums to filter the air, making it safe for children to return to the classroom.