Students in the German region of Bavaria are banned from using mobile phones in local schools.

The move is in response to the discovery of pornography and violent movies on numerous of the students' phones last week.

Police confiscated about 200 devices after a raid, 16 of which contained porn or violent images.

The decision by the local government forces students to switch off their devices on school premises during classes and recess. Emergency use is still allowed, but only after the student has obtained permission from a teacher.

The government decided against an all-out phone prohibition because of concerns about the legality of such a measure.

Margarete Bause, a member of the German Green Party, said that the ban is merely an attempt to avoid taking responsibility, claiming that it does not solve the issue of school violence, but instead moves it to after-school hours.