AN action group hoping to save an East Lancashire special school earmarked to close within a year have delivered more than 800 letters objecting to the plan.

Members of Blackamoor Action Group, who have spent months campaigning on behalf of the school in Roman Road, Blackburn, are hoping the letters will help win a reprieve.

They were delivered to Blackburn with Darwen's director of education and training Mark Pattison who will send them to the Secretary of State for Education David Blunkett within a month.

Mr Blunkett will then decide whether the council's plans for a shake-up of all the borough's special schools will go ahead.

The proposals, passed by members of Blackburn with Darwen Council's education and training committee in May, involve merging Blackamoor School with Dame Evelyn Fox, also in Roman Road, in the year 2000 and closing the primary department at Crosshill School, in Shadsworth Road, in 2001. Andy Sykes, a parent governor at Blackamoor, said: "The letter are from parents and pupil's relatives as well as organisations that have an interest in the school, like health and social workers, and are formal letters of objection.

"This is a last-ditch attempt as far as we are concerned to stop the school being closed. It is all or nothing and David Blunkett is our last hope."

Mr Sykes, whose wife Jennifer is chair of the action group and 13-year-old daughter Kirsty a pupil at Blackamoor, is now hoping Mr Blunkett will make a swift decision.

He said: "The council have to pass the proposals and the letters onto the department for Education and Employment within a month and he then has eight months to decide.

"I don't think we will have to wait that long though. I'm certainly hoping he will put us out of our misery as soon as he can.

"Everyone involved is up in the air and the moment and decisions about our children's futures can't be made until he decides."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.