Fresh in-fighting has broken out in the Brighton and Hove Labour group over the city's controversial new school catchment areas.

Labour councillors Kevin Allen and Anne Meadows have joined rebel councillor Juliet McCaffery in publicly stating their opposition to the scheme.

They have written to the city council's chief executive, Alan McCarthy, to request he calls the decision in for review.

Their letter said: "In an attempt to address the problems faced by a relatively small minority in certain areas of the city a far greater number will be disproportionately affected by changes that they regard as unjustified or ill thought out."

It is the second such request Mr McCarthy has received. Yesterday eight members of the council's Conservative group wrote to him to express their unhappiness with the knife-edge vote which approved the plans - decided after Coun McCaffery was thrown off the committee at the last minute by her own party because she would not vote in favour of the proposals.

It is understood that Mr McCarthy has accepted at least one of the requests although the council has not yet confirmed this.

If he has, a scrutiny committee must convene within seven days to review the decision.

If it decides the way it was reached broke the council's constitution rules it can send the issue back to the children, families and schools committee, which voted the plans in last Friday.

The committee must then decide whether to push the plans through, change them, delay them or throw them out.