SCHOOLS in East Lancashire are failing to meet fire safety checks, it has been revealed.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service have issued seven schools in the area with enforcement notices after inspections found they did not meet fire safety regulations.

And one school, Clitheroe Royal Grammar School had been handed an alterations notice to ensure the building meets current legislation.

A freedom of information request revealed Al Islah Private School, Markazul Uloom School, Sacred Heart School, all Blackburn; Walverden County Infant School,and Whitefield Infant School, both Nelson; and Barrowford Primary School all had areas of ‘non-compliance'.

These included inadequate fire alarms systems, fire doors, emergency routes and firefighting equipment.

But the fire service’s fire investigation and enforcement manager, Group Manager Richard Stott, described these faults as ‘minor’ and said pupils and staff were not put at risk.

He said: “Schools in Lancashire generally have an excellent fire safety record and meet the requirements of the law.

“Inevitably however with such a large number of schools and varying standards and ages of building stock some have been issued with formal or informal notices in order to address any shortfalls.

“In the majority of these cases, the area of non-compliance involved minor faults and did not put pupils and staff at serious risk.

“If a school was deemed to have put its pupils and staff at a more serious risk, then action would have been taken to reduce the risk to a tolerable level.”

Geraldine Bradbury, director of education at the Diocese of Salford which controls Sacred Heart, said: “We take fire safety very seriously at the school.

"When inspections take place we work with property advisors to ensure any issues identified as part of that process are addressed swiftly.

“I would like to add that there has been no disruption to the teaching programme throughout this time.”

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service carried out 130 inspections across the county in 2010.