MOTHERS in Morecambe and Heysham told of their shock at the abolition of clothing grants for children of families on income support.

Dawn Watson of Sycamore Grove in Heysham and other parents obtained pages of signatures for a petition against the proposal by Lancashire County Council in a matter of hours.

The mums have already gained the support of teachers at a local primary school and a number of parents whose children don't even qualify for the school uniform grant. Parents will still receive a £90 grant for their children in a one off payment when they move to secondary school.

Said Dawn: "I don't want my children to be laughed at because they won't have the proper clothes. Even if they abolish school uniforms it will just be like a fashion parade and the children without the good clothes will be ridiculed."

Dawn went on to offer her own case as an example of how badly a family can be affected by the cut: "I have three children and I'm on my own. My five-year-old son is hyper-active because of open heart surgery he had when he was very small. Because of that he goes through clothes very quickly.

"I also have a seven-year-old daughter and a three-year-old who is almost blind. I just don't know how I'm going to clothe them all through their school days now. I have to say I'm really pleased with the support I've had for this and I'm going to do what I can to get them to change their minds."

A statement issued by Lancashire County Council said: "The local education authority decided to reduce expenditure on welfare items in order to maintain frontline classroom services. We are however still providing clothing grants to children who qualify for them, and issue the grant at the most expensive time for families - when children are changing school."

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