A father collected almost 1,000 signatures for a petition in under two weeks to protest against a bid to close his son's school.

St Anne's School in Lewes, which caters for children with special needs, has been threatened with closure after plans were announced to send pupils back into mainstream schools.

But parents fear their children will not get the right support and could end up being bullied if the school is shut by East Sussex County Council.

Kevin Richardson, whose 15-year-old son Jonathan is at the school, said: "They haven't got a good reason for shutting it. It has been a school for 50 years and a special school for 25."

Mr Richardson, of Crisp Road, Lewes, stood in the town centre one Saturday with his wife, collecting signatures.

He also put copies in the surrounding shops and garages and is confident he can get even more people to support their cause.

He said: "My son leaves next year but he has dyslexia. Before he went there he was falling behind in school.

"He has now done really well and the school has benefited him immensely. If the pupils went back into mainstream schools it would definitely affect them."

Parents of children at the school, which has 80 pupils, intend to lobby the county council at a Cabinet meeting on December 18, where councillors will decided whether or not to formally consult on proposals to close the school.

The council has argued that the number of pupils at St Anne's has been falling and provision for pupils with learning difficulties in the area has improved greatly.

There are also financial concerns about maintaining a school with such a small group and it has been pointed out by the council if no special school in Lewes existed at present it would not be looking to open one there.

A county council spokesman said: "The meeting on December 18 is just another stage of the process.

"At the moment we are doing wide-ranging consultation, which hasn't reached any sort of formal stage."