ROUEN, France (AFP) - A class in a French nursery school was left to watch a hardcore porn film for several minutes in what authorities today termed an "extremely regrettable accident."

The children, aged between three and five, were expecting to watch a cartoon their teacher had downloaded from the Internet at their school in Authieux-sur-le-Port-Saint-Ouen in Normandy.

Instead, the teacher clicked on the wrong file and immediately left the room, only realising her mistake when she returned five minutes later.

The shocked kids reported the incident to their parents and the female teacher now faces disciplinary action, education officials said.