Happily chatting and walking between lessons, these children are being watched by school spy cameras designed for their protection.

Now it has emerged that the images can be viewed by anyone after the CCTV systems were hacked and put online.

A disturbing website, which boasts ‘Watch live surveillance cameras in the UK’, allows people anywhere in the world to spy on children, teachers and parents in real time.

Now it has emerged that the images can be viewed by anyone after the CCTV systems were hacked and put online. Pictured: Pupils at an unnamed school in South East England

A disturbing website, which boasts ‘Watch live surveillance cameras in the UK’, allows people anywhere in the world to spy on children, teachers and parents in real time. Pictured: Outside the school

Among the schools on the US-registered site was St Mary’s Catholic Academy in Blackpool, attended by 1,188 pupils

Four British schools were found among hundreds of public spaces, businesses and private homes whose security was breached because their cameras weren’t protected by passwords.

Among the schools on the US-registered site was St Mary’s Catholic Academy in Blackpool, attended by 1,188 pupils.

Eight CCTV cameras in the playground, entrances and inside the school corridors could be accessed.

Pictured, a CCTV camera installed in a toilet at Summerhill School in Kingswinford, West Midlands, where parents expressed outrage after finding out they were installed last year

St Mary's Catholic Academy in Blackpool, pictured, is one of at least four schools that has had its CCTV footage broadcast online

They also gave views of the neighbouring Christ The King Academy Primary School.

Last Wednesday afternoon, children at the infant school children could be seen leaving their classrooms and being picked up by parents from cameras at St Mary’s.

Older students, teachers and sixth-formers at the attached site could also be spied on.

The parent of a child at St Mary’s branded the breach ‘completely shocking’.

‘It’s really bad, they’ve got cameras everywhere around the school,’ the parent said.

Also targeted was Highfield Leadership Academy in Blackpool, which has 1,130 pupils.

Seven CCTV cameras were also live streamed from Highfield Leadership Academy in Blackpool, pictured, where they teach 1,130 pupils aged between 11 and 16

Seven cameras were being streamed live.

Told about the footage, one Highfield parent said: ‘Oh, my God. How can they be allowed to run so many cameras if they can’t look after the children the cameras are supposed to protect?’

Pictured, a CCTV camera installed in a toilet at Summerhill School in Kingswingford, West Midlands

None of the headteachers at the schools would comment when informed of the breaches.

At an unnamed fourth school in the South-East footage shows students, teachers and cleaning staff inside a room, which has distinctive purple, white and grey lockers on one side.

St Mary’s and Highfield strengthened their passwords, thereby removing cameras from the site.

Jeremy Hartley, of the Eric Wright Group, which runs CCTV systems at two of the schools, said: ‘As soon as our systems were alerted, the camera feed was immediately taken offline and our technology experts were on site to investigate the breach and to determine the cause.’

More than 200 schools across the UK use security cameras in toilets, according to a report by anti-surveillance advocacy group Big Brother Watch.

The website broadcasting the footage claims no cameras are hacked and all the internet-connected cameras on the site do not have proper password protection.

The Information Commissioner’s Office said it is looking into the details of the cases.