NEARLY all of a town's primary school kitchens have failed to meet health and safety standards in the past 18 months, The Northern Echo can reveal.

Of 22 primary schools visited by Darlington Borough Council's inspectors since April last year, 18 were told to improve.

Two secondary schools, Hurworth and Hummersknott, were also inspected. Both failed to meet standards.

The council's reports, acquired under the Freedom of Information act, show a range of failures, including:

l Cobwebs in kitchens;

l Flaking walls and ceilings;

l Broken fridges and chillers;

l Dirty extractor fans.

Only Cockerton, Dodmire infants, High Coniscliffe and St Augustine's passed their inspections.

Freedom of Information officers could not provide reports for Abbey juniors, Corporation Road, Gurney Pease and Skerne Park, which opened in March.

Heathfield primary was strongly criticised, as inspectors found eight breaches of the 1990 Food Safety Act.

The inspection, carried out in April last year, found flaking paint, dirty walls and an unsafe vinyl floor. Cobwebs were found on the extractor fan, canopy, and filters. The cobwebs have since been removed.

However, remedial action -considered the responsibility of the school, rather than the council -is not recorded by the authority.

No one from Heathfield, Hummersknott, or Hurworth Comprehensive was available to comment.

Dirty or greasy extractor fans were found at Abbey infants, Dodmire juniors, Firthmoor, Heighington, Holy Family, Hurworth primary, Middleton St George, Mowden infants, Mount Pleasant and St Bedes. Flaking or peeling paint was found at Bishopton, Dodmire juniors, Hurworth primary, Middleton St George, Mount Pleasant and St Bedes.

A chiller at Alderman Leach was broken, and the walk-in chiller at Hurworth Comprehensive was also broken. The main fridge at Middleton St George had a "badly fluctuating" temperature.

School kitchens are inspected about every 18 months. Dodmire juniors, Harrowgate Hill, Heathfield, Holy Family, Hurworth primary, Mount Pleasant, St Bedes and Whinfield were due inspections this month, but reports are not yet available.

Some school kitchens are contracted out by the council.

Of the reports seen, Darlington Education Village and Harrowgate Hill juniors are run by Scolarest. Dodmire infants, Hurworth Comprehensive, Redhall, St Augustine's and St Bedes are run by Hallmark.

A Scolarest spokesman said: "At both schools, there was a meeting held between the school and Scolarest, and the problems have been addressed."

Hallmark was unavailable for comment. Since the reports, a new school has been built at Middleton St George. New kitchens have been installed at Mowden Infants and North Road, and a new kitchen is due at St Bedes