COUNCIL chiefs have sought to allay fears that pupils and residents are being endangered by asbestos in a former Kidderminster school building.

According to a Worcestershire County Council spokesman, the asbestos will be removed before the old Offmore Primary School building is demolished and work starts on the new school.

He added that the county council was always aware asbestos was sealed in the building and there would be no health risk to residents or pupils during its removal.

He explained that the county council had not been able to carry out a detailed survey of the quantity of the asbestos until the building had been fully vacated.

The removal work is expected to take about five weeks and the council said it would be working hard to minimise any disruption to the building schedule.

Meanwhile, pupils will use the temporary school, which has been separated completely from the old building, including separate access.

The Worcestershire County Council spokesman said: "We were always aware that there was asbestos sealed in the old Offmore Primary building, as it is a very commonly used material in buildings of this age.

“However, we were unable to carry out a detailed survey of the quantity until the school had vacated the building.

“This survey has now been completed and we can begin removing the material, which will be finished before the building can be demolished.

“The removal, which we expect to take around five weeks, will be carried out by a contractor licensed by the Health and Safety Executive.

“It will be contained within the old school building and will not pose any risk to anyone at the school or in the surrounding area.

“We will be working closely with the building contractor to minimise the impact of the removal work on the building schedule and completion date."

He added: “The children will be using the temporary school, which has been separated completely from the old building, including separate access but, other than the change of buildings, they will continue to attend school as normal.”