A TEACHERS' union has called for anonymity for staff facing "malicious allegations" in the wake of the nine-year suspension of a Tottington schoolmaster.

At its annual conference, the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) re-affirmed its commitment to protect the identity of members under investigation.

Earlier, the union had represented Anthony McNally, who was suspended from Ramsbottom's Woodhey High School on full pay for nine years.

The teacher was suspended in 1995 after a 15-year-old boy accused him of "inappropriate touching" and never returned to the classroom. Despite police and council inquiries, no charges were ever brought. In January, it was announced he had quit following the saga, which cost taxpayers £1 million.

At the NASUWT conference in Wales, members backed a call for teachers accused of offences to be given the cloak of anonymity during investigations.

The conference was told that in recent years, there has been 1,859 police investigations into allegations of criminal abuse against NASUWT members. In 1,560 cases, there has not been a conviction, with 226 cases still outstanding.

Because it is the union policy not to identify any members who have been the subject of investigation, Mr McNally's name was not mentioned at the conference.

But in a direct reference to the case, in the wake of the anonymity issue, NASUWT deputy general secretary Chris Keates said: "Publicity affects teachers' families with unimaginable stress and anxiety as investigations have taken as long as eight years to complete."