A British advisory body has warned that thousands of women are sacked, or threatened with dismissal by employers each year just because they get pregnant.

In a new report, the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux -- the CAB -- says employment laws are being deliberately flouted resulting in an estimated hundred-thousand pregnant women a year being poorly treated.

The government has pledged new laws to improve maternity rights; but the CAB says such legislation is useless if existing rules are already being ignored.

They've called for the creation of a new agency with tougher powers to enforce employment rights.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service