Giving parents choice over the school their children attend has led to racial segregation in some communities, a committee of MPs has warned.

In a report published on Friday, the Commons committee on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister argued that the government's policy of backing more faith schools could make the situation worse.

Examples included one school in Oldham, where all pupils were from a Bangladeshi background, and another with only one white pupil.

The MPs' inquiry follows the 2001 race riots in the city, as well as in Burnley and Bradford.

Parents chose schools with the same racial background as their children due to cultural "ignorance and fear", said the report.

MPs called on John Prescott to ensure his social housing policies do not lead to the creation of single-race estates, while attempting not to locate schools, hospitals and leisure centres in areas likely to be frequented by one community.

Committee chairman Andrew Bennett said there was evidence that there are benefits to living in a multi-cultural area.

However, he warned that there were "still concerns that some communities are turning in on themselves and trying to create mono-cultural areas".

Local education authorities have been urged to teach parents the benefits of their children receiving a multicultural education.

"Schools provide an opportunity for different cultural groups to mix," said the report.

"There are many schools whose students do not reflect the range of cultural groups in their locality and so do not help to promote social cohesion.

"This is a result of parental choice, the quality of some schools and the growth of faith schools."