Workmen were called in to a Leigh secondary school last night to remove asbestos from pipes after a water leak caused heating to break down.

Specially trained contractors sealed off a passageway in a teaching block at Belfairs High School to remove the equivalent of two bin bags full of pipe lagging material containing asbestos fibres.

Headteacher John Duprey and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) moved to quell fears about contamination after the leak was discovered at the Highland Boulevard school last Friday.

Mr Duprey said: "There are no health risks at all. The whole issue of how asbestos is removed as tightly controlled."

HSE inspector John Claxton, who has been overseeing the process, said: "There are trace quantities of asbestos in the lagging material which are quite common in older buildings."

Electric heaters have been used in the block since heating broke down during half-term last week. The asbestos was found when workmen went into a duct below the block floor to replace ageing pipes.

The passageway has been sealed off to staff and students until the pipes are replaced and heating is restored. The work is expected to be over by the end of this week.

Mr Duprey said: "The pipes that need to be replaced are about 50 years old, the same as the school, and we knew the asbestos was there.

"The work is being done outside of school hours. Lessons have continued as normal and there has been no disruption."

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