A GROUP of parents campaigning for more secondary school places in the Ribble Valley has challenged Lancashire County Council leader Hazel Harding to meet them and discuss their plight.

The Ribble Valley Schools for Ribble Valley Children's group first invited Coun Harding to a public meeting two years ago when she was the county council's head of education.

They wanted to discuss an offer from Clitheroe Royal Grammar School of 30 additional places for local children.

But today the council said it would be willing to meet the group if it sent a formal invitation.

Stuart Finch from the group said: "Our group attended a public meeting two years ago and called on Hazel Harding to accept Clitheroe Royal Grammar School's offer or make sufficient places available elsewhere.

"Each year parents in the Ribble Valley face the possibility that their children seeking a place at a local secondary school will be offered one out of the area. Children from Mellor have been offered places at Walton-le-Dale High School because not enough places are available at the preferred choice of Ribblesdale High School in Clitheroe.

"Each year, Lancashire County Council turn the offer down, presumably on the grounds of political dogma."

County Coun Harding was unavailable for comment as she was away on business in London, but a spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "We are always interested to hear the views of any parent. If the group wantsto extend an official invitation to us, we could see if a meeting can be arranged."

He added: "It is our responsibility to give every child in Lancashire a place at a local secondary school and we always manage to satisfy 90 per cent of parents' first preferences.

"But once a school is full we cannot provide an infinite number of extra places there.

"We know there is an on-going issue in the Ribble Valley. But parents there will be aware that in the past we have listened to them and will continue to do."

Funds have been ploughed into both Ribblesdale High School and Bowland High at Grindleton in recent years to allow them to take in more pupils to try and alleviate some of the problems.

This was taken further in December last year when the county council's executive committee for education decided to scrap plans for a new high school in the Ribble Valley in favour of £1.9 million of improvements to both schools.

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans said: "Children are being put at risk because they are not allowed to attend schools that are closer to home. I have heard from concerned parents that in order to get to school on time their children will have to set off from home at 6 o'clock in the morning and not return home until seven o'clock at night.

"Apart from the physical danger this poses, especially now that violent crime is on the increase, what about the damage to their studies that this unnecessary pressure will cause?"