NINETY schoolchildren have been brought home from a continental trip three days early after it was discovered they had been booked into a hotel from hell.

Teachers accompanying the Year 9 pupils from St John's School, Marlborough, raised the alarm after complaining of overcrowding in bedrooms, exposed electrical wiring, unsafe stairwells, a lack of fire extinguishers and inadequate fire escapes.

"There was a catalogue of problems," said headteacher Dr Patrick Hazlewood.

The pupils were on a trip to the French and Belgian battlefields of the First World War and had been booked to stay at the Hotel Cosmopolite in the town of Nuiwpoort in Belgium.

But less than 24 hours after the pupils had waved goodbye to the school, Dr Hazlewood had a late night call from staff to say they considered the hotel was a health and safety risk.

Staff were able to send half the children to another hotel for one night but the trip organisers, Schools Abroad, could not find alternative accommodation for the rest of the stay.

Dr Hazlewood said: "My instructions on hearing this were to bring the children home."

He said the school organised visits to the battlefields every year and St John's groups had stayed in Nuiwpoort before, but not at the Hotel Cosmopolite. Teachers on school trips were always advised to carry out their own health and safety checks on accommodation, he added.

The company has agreed to give the school a full refund and there are plans to send the children on their battlefield visit later in the year.