TEACHERS are demanding urgent action to protect them from violent pupils as new figures reveal Sussex is in the grip of an epidemic of

classroom violence.

School employees are now being assaulted by pupils at the rate of four a day, according to disturbing new figures obtained by The Argus.

Yesterday, unions warned that the growing abuse is stopping teachers taking up jobs in schools.

In the past two years there were almost 1,800 attacks on teachers and support staff, who have regularly endured being punched, kicked, stabbed with compasses and spat at, according to union leaders.

The figures will boost calls for better protection of teaching staff, warning notices in schools and a zero tolerance attitude to the attackers.

The statistics also cast doubt about the Government's plans to improve discipline in schools.

Steve Hill, from the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), said: "Student teachers' biggest worry is always classroom behaviour. It's not the workload or pay but their physical safety they worry about and there's justification for it."

Figures released by East and West Sussex county councils to The Argus under the Freedom of Information Act show there have been 1,797 attacks on staff since the beginning of 2004.

The savagery comes as violent crime in Sussex's worst hotspots reaches an all-time high and teen thugs are running riot.

Record levels of muggings, assaults and other attacks in the county's ten most violent streets were revealed in police figures published by The Argus last month.

Classroom violence is most prevalent in East Sussex, where schools recorded three times as many attacks as West Sussex.

Mr Hill said: "The overall total is absolutely huge. Whether the attacks are physical or verbal they are greatly distressing. Teachers make an enormous emotional input to schools and to suffer an attack of any kind is a huge knock."

More than half of attacks took place in special schools where pupils can have severe learning and behaviour problems.

Mark Dunn, West Sussex cabinet member for children's services, said: "These incidents are properly recorded and dealt with. Regrettably, they are completely unavoidable.

"I am more concerned about antisocial behaviour from children in mainstream schools who are much more aggressive than we would like.

"It is the disease of our time."

He said the county council ran anger management courses for aggressive pupils but urged parents to play a greater role in instilling good manners and respect in their children.

About 91 per cent of attacks involved physical violence.

Mr Hill said: "The violent physical assaults are not really the problem. The biggest issue is low level indiscipline and abusive language."

Jeff Nixon, from the National Union of Teachers, said: "Many staff who experience an attack are so traumatised they cannot return to teaching."

Pupils are not the only perpetrators of violence in the classroom.

Last November, parent Simon Morton, 38, of Ghyllside, Brighton, was jailed for seven months for attacking two teachers at Patcham High School.

A spokeswoman for East Sussex County Council said: "Safety of staff and pupils is a top priority. We fully support schools in their drive to reduce incidents by providing advice and guidance to them including training to school staff in managing behaviour and support to individual pupils."