Five children at a nursery in North Yorkshire have been diagnosed with diarrhoea caused by the e-coli bacteria.

The youngsters all attend the Busy Bears Nursery in Broughton Road, Skipton.

Two of the children are in hospital being treated for e-coli 0157.

One is at St James's in Leeds and the other at Airedale Hospital in Keighley, although both are stable and responding to treatment.

E-coli 0157 can lead to acute kidney failure Dr Ebere Okereke

The nursery, which caters for 143 children, has been closed.

All staff and children are being screened for signs of infection.

Parents of the children have been informed and given appropriate advice.

The North Yorkshire Health Protection Service has described the bug as a "very serious infection".

Consultant Dr Ebere Okereke told BBC News Online: "Outbreaks of e-coli 0157 are uncommon - they are usually sparadic.

"But when you are dealing with vulnerable members of the public, such as nursery children, you have to pull out all the stops to get on top of it."

Possible sources

Dr Okereke said e-coli 0157 produces a toxin that causes bloody diarrhoea and can lead to acute kidney failure.

The team are now investigating the source of the infection at the nursery, looking through high risk foods such as milk and meat.

The homes of the children affected are also being checked out for possible sources.

Dr Okereke added: "It is not uncommon that the source is not found as food gets thrown away."

An investigation by the local environmental health unit later concluded that the source of the outbreak was "outside the nursery." It found the infection was introduced into the nursery where it was spread by person to person contact. A spokesman told the BBC they were "generally happy with standards at the nursery." They also recommended that nurseries should have "a clear exclusion policy for children with gastrointestinal symptoms and these should be rigorously applied." This guidance has been issued to all playgroups and nurseries in North Yorkshire.