A battery factory in the south of China has been closed down due to a lead poisoning scare.

Chinese medical teams have discovered clusters of lead poisoning in recent months, mostly among very young children.

The findings have caused unrest and growing anger over public safety scandals in which children have been the main victims.

Excessive amounts of lead in the body can harm the nervous and reproductive systems and cause high blood pressure and anemia.

In severe cases, it can lead to convulsions, coma and death.

Some children in Yinyuan, an industrial district in Guangdong province, have been living only about 30 metres away from the battery factory, run by Aokelai Power Co.

44 children living in the area were found to have excessive levels of lead in their blood before the city's environmental bureau took over the battery plant to conduct tests on the factory's water discharge.

Officials found lead content exceeding provincial safety standards in the water.