ANGRY parents whose children have been refused places at the secondary school of their choice marched them into the building today to demand action.

All four parents said they put Habergham High School, Byron Street, as their first option for their children but all were refused.

They gathered at Habergham at 8.30am for a protest against the allocation system before marching their children into the school with all the other pupils to demand answers from members of staff.

Education bosses offered to meet the parents to discuss their problems, created by an annual scramble for school places which has prompted MP Peter Pike to step in.

Each year many parents are refused their first choice of school for their children and Mr Pike has said the problem, which has been on-going for the last six years, is getting worse.

Mr Pike said that this year he has 14 or 15 cases of parents whose children have been given places at school which they believe are unsuitable.

At Habergham, 300 people applied for places as their first choice but only 180 were given a place.

More people are moving to new housing developments in the Ightenhill and Whittlefield and battling for places at nearby Habergham and Ivy Bank. The problem is also exacerbated because the town has four single sex schools limiting the number of mixed places.

Donna Wolfenden, 30, of Allerton Drive, Burnley, said she was told in March that her 11-year-old son Danny had not got a place at the school.

He was instead offered Barden High School at the other side of the town, almost three-and-a-half miles from the family home.

She said Danny was upset that he will not be able to join his friends at Habergham.

He said: "I want to go to Habergham. All my friends are there."

Donna added: "It's upsetting for the kids. We come down and they see all their pals going in to school without them."

She said: "We need help. They are just closing all the doors in our faces. It is a case of there is no place and that is that. We just want our kids to have a good education and for someone to take action. We are going to dig our heels in."

Vicky Brown, 35, of nearby Venice Avenue, has been told her 11-year-old Kira will not going with her friends to Habergham this year.

She said: "I want to get her into a quality local school for local kids."

Nicole Freemont, 28, of Wood Street, Hapton, had two appeals by the LEA turned down for her son Leon.

She said: "It is a mess. Leon is having to travel six miles to go to school and the buses are only every hour. This means he's setting off at 7am. Our children are being offered the dregs and there are kids."

Lisa Newton, 31, of Radnor Avenue, has been refused a place for her son David, 11. She said: "We only live at the back of the school so why should he have to travel across town?"

Deputy headteacher Donald Waine was not available to comment.

Mr Pike said: "I am very sympathetic with these parents but I don't think this protest will particularly help. There are no easy solutions."

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "There is an admissions procedure for allocating places to secondary schools in Burnley like any other part of the country.

"There is also a process that parents can go through to appeal if they are unhappy with the place they have been given. In relation to this incident we would be more than happy to meet with the parents to discuss the concerns they have got."