Two knife attacks on school classrooms in as many days have sent Chinese parents into panic, prompting demands for greater security and a bout of national soul searching over the atrocities.

Yesterday a former insurance salesman slashed and stabbed his way through a kindergarten in southeast China, wounding 31 people.

Officials said that Xu Yuyuan, 47, broke into a classroom at the Zhongxin kindergarten in Taixing city, Jiangsu province, about 9.40am and attacked the children with a knife. Residents living next door, armed with fire extinguishers and brooms, finally subdued the man until the police could reach the scene, one report said.

The man stabbed twenty-eight children and one teacher, a security guard and a school volunteer who tried to protect the terrified four-year-olds.

A photograph from the scene showed bloodstains spattered across the school steps. A staff member at the Taixing No 1 People’s Hospital said that some children were being treated there. “The doctors are trying to save them,” he said.

Five students were in critical condition in hospital, said Zhu Guiming, an official with the propaganda department in Taixing city.

The well-regarded Caijing magazine said that four children had died in the attack, but officials told state media that no deaths had been reported and the condition of those who were most badly hurt was stabilising.

Police arrested Mr Xu, who was described as unemployed. He worked for a local insurance company in 2001 but then took part in illegal pyramid selling schemes.

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