Students should be subject to "intrusive" airport-style searches before sitting exams, MPs and university bosses have said, amid fears a growing number are using tiny in-ear devices to cheat the system.

It comes after official data revealed for the first time that "cheat tech" is on the rise, as hundreds of students have been caught with covert technological devices during tests.

Experts warn the figures are just the "tip of an iceberg" with the true number of exam cheats likely to be far higher, as they are "fiendishly difficult" to catch.

A Sunday Telegraph investigation has found high-tech ear pieces available for UK students to buy on Amazon and eBay, under listings which include the words "exam cheat".