Labour's shadow transport secretary has claimed that Thomas the Tank Engine is sending out the wrong message to children.

Mary Creagh has criticised the lack of female train drivers, calling it a "national scandal" and cites the lack of good female role models in publications such as Thomas the Tank Engine as adding to the problem.

The shadow transport secretary said: "In the Thomas the Tank Engine books there are almost no female engines. The only female characters are an annoyance, a nuisance and in some cases a danger to the functioning of the railway."

All the main characters in the original books are men, with just one female engine. 

She is eager to dispel some of the myths that stop women from taking up jobs in the transport industry, which is dominated by men.

There are approximately 1,000 female train drivers in the sector, which equates to just over four per cent. 

Ms Creagh suggested advertising roles in magazines such as Good Housekeeping and Women's Own to encourage more females to take up jobs in the transport industry.