THE parents of a five-year-old boy who cannot speak are to appeal against a High Court decision which ruled that Bury Council did not have to pay for a classroom sign language tutor.

Anne and Tony Freeman are furious that their son Connor, who has not been to school for a year, will continue to miss out on his education because a signing assistant to support him through the day cannot be found at the salary being offered by the local education authority.

His mother is taking sign language classes in a bid to teach Connor at their home in George Road, Ramsbottom, until a tutor can be found to accompany him to school. She is now trying to raise money to buy a laptop computer for him.

She said: "We were devastated at the ruling. I really thought we were going to win, and I told Connor he would be back at school on Monday, and then I had to break the bad news."

Connor attends St Joseph's RC School in Ramsbottom one day a week for two hours. Doctors are baffled at the mystery condition which has meant he has been unable to speak since birth.

Specialist signer Kathryn Kirkman, who knows the Connor family, was initially prepared to take the post at £12,500 rather than the £10,500 then on offer by the council. But her application was rejected by the council, and by the time it raised its salary offer, she had taken an alternative post at £20,000 a year.

The judge said Connor's parents did not have an "arguable" case that the council had erred in law in reaching its decision.