Teachers have been issued with walkie-talkies in a bid to increase security and combat attacks, it has been revealed.

And as Bradford council unveiled a new action plan to protect its staff as the number of attacks has grown, one union boss said teachers are seen as legitimate targets and the situation is getting worse.

Figures for 1997 showed that council staff suffering abuse from the public had risen by 500 to 1,500 and the figures included 300 teachers. The other highest category was social workers.

Mark Newman, a council member of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "In the last few years there has been a steady increase in the number of teachers assaulted, both verbally and physically."

Mr Newman said the evidence was there for everyone to see in the form of almost fortress-like schools.

"Teachers need to be secure. Gone are the days that you could turn up to a school and just stroll in."

Only this week, Mr Newman received a query from a member who had the unpleasant experience of a parent turning up to the school and yelling foul and abusive language in front of the children.

At his own school, Denholme First, a panic button has been installed in every classroom and nobody is ever more than ten metres away from a phone.

And security fears have prompted Eccleshill Upper School to issue teachers working in remote parts with walkie-talkies.

The Harrogate Road site is open and vulnerable, said head teacher Neil Donkin and staff must feel they can call for help. "It is not common for teachers to be attacked but it is worrying and if it only happens once, that is once too often."

The school is also plagued by motorcyclists who drive across playing fields, often mid-game, and grind up the turf. PE staff also carry walkie-talkies when they are in the sports hall.

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