Almost half a million schoolchildren are working illegally, often playing truant to do paid work.

A new TUC report yesterday revealed that a third of those working unlawfully were aged 13, with most having a paper round or paid to baby-sit.

Many of the children questioned were working longer hours than they were legally allowed to, with almost half employed after 8pm and a quarter working before 6am.

One in 10 children admitted they played truant to do paid work.

Almost half of 15 and 16-year-olds said they had a job, mainly baby-sitting, delivering newspapers or working in a shop. Other jobs included gardening, cleaning and working on a market stall.

But many employers did not know how many hours schoolchildren were allowed to work.

The rules

Children under 14 are not allowed to have a paid job, unless it is 'cultural, sporting, artistic or advertising work'.

Children aged 14 or 15 can only be employed to perform "light work" which does not harm their health or safety.

Children under 16 are not permitted to work before 7am or after 7pm, and no child can work for more than two hours on a school day or for more than 12 hours in a school week.

Children under the age of 15 cannot be employed for more than 25 hours a week outside term times.