Schools in Cumbria excluded pupils for racist bullying on dozens of occasions last year, new figures reveal.

Anti-racism campaign group Hope Not Hate said a national rise in the number of exclusions due to racism is a concern, but that schools are clamping down on the behaviour.

Department for Education data shows Cumbria's schools excluded students 33 times for racist abuse in 2018-19.

That was up from 31 in the previous academic year.

All were fixed-term exclusions, also known as suspensions, where a pupil is temporarily removed. The figures include abuse by children at state-funded primary, secondary and special schools in the area.

It was a similar picture across the rest of England, where pupils were excluded for racist bullying on 4,900 occasions last year – a record high, and up from 4,300 in 2017-18.

Owen Jones, head of education at Hope Not Hate, said the number of additional racist abuse exclusions last year was "worrying".

However, he added: "From what we have seen, there is a much better concerted effort to clamp down and take it more seriously.

"The process of exclusion is fraught for everyone involved, but the tolerance for that behaviour is reducing.

"Students of colour are having more confidence to speak up. It's not just about the 'n' word, it's about comments made throughout the day which make students feel unwelcome."

Mr Jones said racist abuse is a particular concern in rural and coastal schools, which have mostly white student populations.

Overall, Cumbria schools excluded pupils 3,648 times in 2018-19 – equivalent to 70 exclusions every week.

This was an increase of 3 per cent on the previous year, when they handed out 3,552 exclusions.

The rise in total exclusions in Cumbria reflects the trend across England, where the figure rose by 7 per cent to 446,000.

A DfE spokesman said permanent exclusion should be a last resort.