A teacher in the US state of Ohio has been sacked after using an electronic device to burn crosses onto the arms of his students.

The school board has fired the science teacher, John Freshwater, who was accused of preaching his Christian beliefs in class.

Mr Freshwater has been told he can appeal the ruling.

A report by independent school officials found that Freshwater also taught creationism in his science class and had failed to remove a Bible and other religious materials from the science classroom.

The investigation also showed that Freshwater taught creationism in his science class and told students that carbon dating was unreliable to argue against evolution.