Exclusion rates in Medway primary schools have been slammed as "absolutely frightening" after rising by more than a third in a year.

The latest figures show the number of temporary exclusions in Medway rose from 583 in 2012/13 to 805 in 2013/14 - giving the Towns the second highest exclusion rate in the country, with 3.37% of the primary school population excluded.

In Kent, the number of exclusions rose by a fifth to 1500.

Education consultant and former headteacher Peter Read said a "culture of exclusion" needed to be reversed by the Local Education Authority.

"Particularly in Medway it's absolutely frightening," he said. "One of the biggest worries is that in 2009/10 there were only three primary school exclusions in Medway, and I was saying how wonderful it was.

"Now they're next to bottom in the country."

"What happens with these children?" he added. "They go into schools that can cope with them. The problem is being created because they're not being managed properly.

"They've developed a culture in Medway of exclusion - so exclusion is not the last resort as it should be.

"I don't believe that Medway children are the worst behaved in the country."

Mike O'Brien, Medway Council's portfolio holder for children's services, said the figures were largely the result of expulsions in six particular schools, and that he would be meeting the Region Schools Commissioner to discuss the situation.

He added: "It's up to headteachers to ensure there's adequate support in place for teachers.

"In the old days you got six of the best and you deserved it, but you don't do that these days."

Cllr O'Brien said he did not believe corporal punishment should be brought back, and that exclusion should be a last resort; but he added: "Pupils have to learn that there's right and wrong."

He said the rise in exclusion was a mystery, adding: "It's something I've been investigating over the last few months. It's something we need to drill down into and get our heads around."