Almost 1,000 teachers accused of having affairs with pupils in last five years in England

Almost 1,000 teachers have been accused of having a relationship with a pupil in the last five years, according to a freedom of information request.

Of these, just over one in four faced police charges.

The figures, obtained by BBC Newsbeat, show that between 2008 and 2013, at least 959 teachers and other school staff were accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a pupil.

Inappropriate: Almost 1,000 teachers have been accused of having a relationship with a pupil in the last five years, research suggests (picture posed by models)

At least 254 of these cases (26 per cent) led to a police charge, the findings show, although Newsbeat said that it was not clear from the responses how many of these cases led to a prosecution, conviction, or were dismissed.

The data is based on responses from 137 councils who were asked how many school staff were suspended, dismissed or faced disciplinary action after being accused of some form of sexual relationship with a pupil.

SOURCE-DAILYM