Racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart said yesterday he hoped new teaching would help increase awareness of dyslexia and prevent sufferers "being left in the dustbin of life".

The three-time Formula One world champion was speaking at the launch in Edinburgh of a Scottish Executive-funded DVD, which is being sent to every school in Scotland.

The DVD features Sir Jackie, who was not diagnosed as having the condition until the age of 41, speaking about how he struggled while at school.

The former Formula One champion, who is president of the support group Dyslexia Scotland, said that when he was at school he was told he was "stupid, dumb and thick".

He said he believed the DVD, created by Edinburgh University with the help of Dyslexia Scotland, would give youngsters with the condition more hope that they could go on to lead a successful life.

He added that it should also improve awareness of the learning difficulty among teachers and education authorities, leading to earlier diagnosis of the condition.

Sir Jackie said: "There are so many people being left in the dustbin of life through poor education and the education authorities have to make sure all of our teachers are fully versed on early recognition of dyslexia so they can help all those people out there."

He criticised Professor Julian Elliot, of Durham University, who earlier this week raised doubts about whether dyslexia existed as a medical condition, instead claiming it was used by middle class parents who feared their children would be classed as low achievers.

But Sir Jackie said: "It's a well-proven fact that there is something called dyslexia. The poor man has either been ill-informed or he hasn't done his homework and he's not listening to the rest of the world."