TEENAGE scientists yesterday joined calls to save the world-famous Liverpool telescope, which is threatened by government spending cuts.

MPs who are investigating the future of the two-metre telescope – which is used by pupils studying physics and astronomy – were told it helped the students "expand our knowledge".

Among six pupils who gave evidence to the Commons science committee were sixth-formers Charlie Palin, of Neston High School, and Jessica Grainger, of St Peter and Paul Catholic College, Widnes.

Their appearance came as fears grow that the spending squeeze will call time on the Liverpool telescope – once hailed as being "of immense importance" by Sir Patrick Moore.

Owned and operated by John Moores University, on an extinct volcano in the Canary Islands, the two-metre telescope has been praised for leading the world in the study of distant planets, supernovae and comets.

Britain's schoolchildren go online to view high-quality images from the telescope from the comfort of their classrooms, as part of the National Schools' Observatory (NSO).