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A former minister has called on the government to introduce sprinkler systems in British schools to offset the threat posed by deliberate fires.
Ian McCartney used a Westminster Hall debate on fire safety to claim that British schools are "under attack".
Pointing to the number of fires started in schools, he warned that it was "only a matter of time before tragedy strikes".
Explaining to MPs that five per cent of all non-dwelling fires in the UK are in schools, McCartney cited research showing that sprinkler systems in American schools have led to far fewer school fires than in the UK.
Fires are increasingly being set during school hours, with six out of ten school fires in Manchester being started deliberately, he said.
And he explained that each small fire in a school costs on average £50,000.
With the National Union of Teachers and parents campaigning for sprinklers in schools, McCartney told MPs that one of the benefits of introducing sprinklers would be a reduction in school insurance premiums.
McCartney - a long standing campaigner on fire safety who 20 years ago introduced the private members' bill that abolished highly flammable foam in furniture - also used the debate to describe the effect of fires on lost school days, staff and pupil morale and the damaging effect on exam results.
Closing an impassioned speech, McCartney called on ministers to ensure that all local authorities be required to introduce sprinklers in new schools.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd