A TEXAS school is thought to be the first in the US to allow guns in the classroom.

The 110-student school, near the border with Oklahoma, is 30 minutes from the nearest police station and officials say the weapons will ensure protection for their pupils.

School Superintendent David Thweatt of the Harrold Independent School District, said the move was designed to stop a crazed gunman rampaging through the classrooms and turning them into a *lo**bath.

"How do you stop the angry person without enough sense?" he said.

"It's not going to take very long for it to be a total massacre.''

But gun campaigners say the risks of having firearms around children outweigh the potential threat of a cold-*lo**ed killer.

Doug Pennington, spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said: "Which risk is more likely? That someone is going to accidentally set off a gun in class and God forbid hit a student, or someone will come in off the highway and start a random shooting spree?''

He also questioned if teachers were trained to respond in a crisis and said the school would be better off with a security guard.

Mr Thweatt would not say which teachers were armed or how many but said all had received adequate training.

The school already has a keyless entry system, cameras, lock-down buttons and classroom telephones.

But Mr Thweatt fears he could not prevent mass murders similar to the Pennsylvania shootings in 2006 and the killing spree at Virginia Tech University in 2007 without weapons.

Each teacher who carries a gun will be approved by its school board, earn a concealed carry licence, and complete training in crisis management and hostage situations.

The weapons will be worn and loaded with ammunition designed to blast into powder.