Parents in Bradford are being warned not to give aspirin to children after a mistake in a new health leaflet.

The district's top public health doctor issued a warning after a Bradford Health Authority leaflet mistakenly advised parents to give children aspirin to gargle for sore throats.

Dr Dee Kyle said the district's under-19s should never be given aspirin, which in rare cases can cause potentially-serious liver and brain problems in children.

In recent years it has been withdrawn from children's medicine because it has occasionally been associated with the acute illness Reye's Syndrome.

Dr Kyle apologised for the mistake on the leaflets, which had been designed to advise people how to get the best out of the NHS this winter.

She said: "Fortunately, the error was very quickly spotted by a colleague and the majority of the leaflets were recalled before being distributed."

But some schools had already handed out the leaflets and they were given a one-page correction.

"The health authority apologised most sincerely for the mistake, possible confusion and extra work caused," said Dr Kyle.

"Extra editing checks are being made on all Health Authority publications to minimise the chance of further mistakes."