More teaching jobs need to be created if a third of local authorities are to avoid a shortage of secondary school places in the next five years.

In an effort to meet demand, councils are being forced to borrow tens of millions of pounds and are having to open up schools in repurposed buildings rather than creating new purpose-built schools.

According to the Local Government Association (LGA), more than 80,000 secondary school places will be needed in the next five years to help ease population pressures and the government has to find funding in order to do it in the correct manner.

There has previously been a debate about the urgent need to create more primary school places due to a rise in birth rates and the government responded by committing £2.35 billion to provide places up to 2017.

However, the LGA has warned that as children move through the education system, the problem will only shift to secondary schools.

South-east councils are some of the local authorities under the most pressure, as according to the study, Reading Borough Council has needed to borrow £34.5 million, while Essex County Council has needed to supplement state funding by £38.7 million.

The government's insistence that all new schools must be either an academy or free school is part of the problem, states the LGA. 

David Simmonds, chairman of the group's children and young people board, said councils had "done everything in their power" to make sure there are enough places and teaching jobs. 

The National Union of Teachers responded to the study by stating it was now "increasingly obvious" the coalition's free school and academies programme was stalling school place planning.

General secretary Christine Blower said: "The LGA report shows that local authorities are in the invidious position of having to cram more children into already crowded classrooms, or putting portacabins on school playgrounds to accommodate additional pupils. This is a ridiculous state of affairs."