Schools have been forced to act after children’s books were found to contain accidental links to an adult-content website.

Parents at numerous schools were sent warnings today about links to adult content in the Spy Dog, Spy Cat and Spy Pups books.

The books, written by Andrew Cope and published by Puffin, contained a URL that was once used to host more information about the main characters.

The domain previously belonged to Mr Cope, but after it expired it was acquired by a third party and the content was changed to pornographic material.

Books removed from school shelves

One school alert said: “If any children access the link with the intent to learn more about the story online they will be exposed to highly inappropriate materials.

“We have removed books by this author from the library and school shelves.”

Puffin has suspended sales, while libraries and retailers have pulled these books from their shelves until further notice.

UK registry service provider Nominet UK released a statement saying the the website has also been taken down.

It said: “The website did not conduct suitable age verification as required under the Online Safety Act - and we have advised the domain owner and its registrar.”

Nominet said it recommended that anyone using prominent web addresses should continue to own the relevant domain, “to avoid issues like this”.

Puffin has previously said it was “acting as a matter of urgency” to get the website removed.

Tes asked the publisher what action would be taken to ensure a similar incident doesn’t happen again.

The publisher stated: ”‘We understand the website has been suspended. We continue to recommend following the guidance issued earlier this week to remove books from shelves for the time being, while a permanent solution is reached.”

For the latest education news and analysis delivered every weekday morning, sign up for the Tes Daily newsletter 

You can now get the UK’s most-trusted source of education news in a mobile app. Get Tes magazine on iOS and on Android