A PRIMARY school's sports days will be axed after a council decided to build a children's centre on its playing fields, teachers claim.

St Stephen's Junior School staff said Blackburn with Darwen Council's decision will leave them without the space for the events or sports matches with other schools.

Council chiefs said part of the deal for the new centre will be improvements to a communal playing area across the road, which can be used by the school.

But staff claim using that area for sport will involve daily sweeps for broken glass and dog muck and trying to persuade teenagers who hang around the area to go away.

What could be the final sports day for the school, in Philips Road, was held last Wednesday on the school playing fields.

At the same time, plans are being drawn up to merge St Stephen's Infants with the junior school on the Philips Road site.

Once complete, the number of children going to the site daily will rise from 260 to nearly 600.

Councillors have decided to plough ahead with plan for the centre despite a letter, signed by most of the staff at the school. Work is due to start this summer.

The letter said:

l Sports days would have to be ditched because the new buildings would take up too much space

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l PE lessons will have to be reduced

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l The development will cost the school its sports pitches, ending inter-school tournaments

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l Lunchtimes games activities will have the be curtailed

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A new all-weather sports surface will be provided over the road, for use by the school and the community, the council said.

But they admitted that creating a decent playing space on the land left after the development would be difficult because of the layout.

Kauser Khanami, a teaching assistant, said: "The playing field over the road, we'll have to check every day for glass.

"It's often used by teenagers when they aren't in school for whatever reason and they can be quite menacing.

The playing field we have has a fence and is solely for the school's use. It is ideal."

Margaret Halleron, also a teaching assistant, said: "The staff at the school are opposed to using the playing field for the children's centre. In an urban setting, school playing fields are vital."

The children's centre will include the nursery currently based on nearby Kelsall Avenue, along with other facilities.

Louisa Arif, of Kelsall Avenue, who has three children at the school, said: "I was really looking forward to the new plans and I am so disappointed to learn that they might threaten sports day.

"These plans were supposed to benefit the community. They need to be doing more exercise."

Coun Paul Browne, a Lib Dem, said: "This doesn't sound like the best site. We shouldn't be building on playing fields."

The headteacher at the school, Eileen Don, declined to comment.