Primary one pupils went missing from their school before being found almost a mile away.

An alarm was raised at Valley Primary School in Kirkcaldy last week when three pupils went missing during their lunch break.

The youngsters were found after knocking on the door of a house because they needed to go to the toilet.

Concerned teachers were forced to call the police in a bid to trace the pupils.

Jacqueline Price, acting head of service at Fife Council, said: "Three primary one children from Valley Primary School left the school grounds without permission just after lunchtime on Wednesday of last week.

"As soon as the school became aware of this, the school building and grounds were searched, and when they were not found, the police were contacted.

"The children were quickly located in the local area and brought back to school."

The school is now reviewing its security measures following the incident.

"The safety and security of our children is our top priority and we apologise for any distress caused by this incident," said Ms Price.

"The school, working with the local authority and Police Scotland, will be reviewing supervision arrangements to reduce the risk of anything like this happening in the future.

"All Fife schools are required to risk assess their safety arrangements on a regular basis and all Fife head teachers are provided with health and safety training to ensure they are equipped to respond to incidents relating to security."

She added: "Any lessons we learn from incidents relating to security are shared across all establishments.

"The head teacher has spoken with all of the parents involved and is working to reassure them, and the school community."