A Brazilian nursery school guard burned six small children and a teacher to death after spraying them with alcohol and setting them alight on Thursday in an attack which has horrified the nation, said emergency services.

Dozens of people were also hurt in the blaze while the guard, who was reported to be mentally ill, died after succumbing to his own burn injuries.

The tragedy occurred in a modest quarter of Janauba, a city of 70,000 about 600km (370 miles) north of Belo Horizonte.

The nursery school was called "Innocent People."