POLICE have arrested three juveniles in connection with the disturbances at Accrington's Moorhead High School.

And officers today confirmed that they are now treating the incidents at the school in Queen's Road West as racially motivated.

Detectives are now questioning pupils from both white and Asian backgrounds as part of a major inquiry into a number of incidents at the school on Monday, which left several youngsters injured and 16 suspended from school.

Accrington police, who are investigating the allegations, have arrested three juveniles in connection with the incidents and said they expect there to be further arrests in the coming days. Riot vans and dog handlers were called in as the troubles, believed to be sparked by a dispute between two pupils, escalated.

It is believed a gang of around 20 youths armed with chains and pieces of wood were involved.

Two of the youths arrested yesterday , who cannot be named for legal reasons, are aged 16 and 15 and are both pupils at the school. Police would not confirm the details of the third arrest.

Sgt Jim Elston, of Accrington CID, said inquiries were continuing and pupils from the school who were believed to have been involved had been attending the police station on a voluntary basis.

He added: "It is fair to say that the pupils that we will be interviewing are from both Asian and white backgrounds. "The process of arrests will go on during the coming days and we will also be interviewing a number of pupils who we know were present. We are interviewing those formally at the police station and they will be interviewed not under arrest but on a voluntary basis.

"It is quite clear that there have been a number of pupils who have been involved in the disturbance to a lesser or a greater degree. Of those we have arrested, we have not chosen to go out and arrest pupils or those involved from other locations, but they have attended on a voluntary basis and been arrested at the police station."

A team from Accrington CID, assisted by uniformed officers, are working on the investigation. A small police presence was still at the school yesterday , to reassure pupils and parents.