ANGRY education bosses have hit back after Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans claimed nursery education had been "deserted" in Lancashire.

County councillor Alan Whittaker spoke out after Mr Evans slammed recent figures showing a fall in the number of teachers in maintained nursery schools in the county.

The shadow Secretary of State for Wales said he was shocked by the figures released by the Department for Education and claimed Lancashire County Council was "incapable" of running nursery education in the county.

But education bosses branded his attack "deceitful" and claimed his comments were deliberately misleading.

The figures reveal a drop in the number of teachers in maintained nursery schools from 77 in 2000 to 69 in 2002. The number of teaching assistants has also fallen from 114 in 1999 to 103 in 2002 and the number of nursery teaching assistants in maintained primary schools has also fallen from 83 in 1999 to 75 in 2001.

Mr Evans said: "This clearly shows that the Government is failing parents and young children in Lancashire. I have had many meetings with worried constituents about the scarcity of secondary school places in the Ribble Valley and now it seems that parents are also being hit at a earlier stage.

"It is clear that Lancashire schools have been deserted by the Government and the Labour-led county council seems incapable of or unwilling to help children get the education they need and deserve."

But Lancashire education bosses said the figures reflected a fall in the birth rate and demand for nursery school places, as well as demographic changes. Coun Whittaker, the authority's cabinet member for education and young people, dubbed the MP's remarks "deliberately misleading".

He said: "This deceitful attack really angers me, not least because of the Tory party's appalling record on nursery education when it was in power. I am proud of Lancashire's record.

"Since the Government was elected in 1997, we have introduced universal funding for four-year-olds and increased the number of free nursery places available to three-year-olds in Lancashire to 6,052.

"This year we have been able to offer nursery places to every three- and four-year-old whose parents want them. We have worked closely in partnership with providers of early education places across all sectors - maintained, private, independent and voluntary - enabling parents to choose the type of nursery provision most appropriate.

"We passionately believe in the importance of early years education, to give our young people the best possible start in life."