A schoolboy was left with a broken foot after pupils charged out of classes in an anti-war protest.

Christopher Braggs, 12, was knocked down as about 300 pupils ran on to playing fields at Blatchington Mill School, Hove, in a demonstration against war in Iraq on Friday morning.

Christopher broke his left foot when he was pushed off a wall.

He was stranded outside the school as teachers battled to control the crowds and prevent youngsters running into the streets.

Pupils arranged the walkout to coincide with other protests in the city, including one at Dorothy Stringer School in Loder Road.

Unable to get to the sick bay, Christopher hobbled to his home in Moyne Close with the help of a friend.

His mother, Julie, is demanding to know why her son was not cared for by staff at the school.

She said: "He called me on his mobile phone to tell me what had happened and that he could not get inside the school building.

"I told him to come straight home. He had to walk all the way and was in a great deal of discomfort."

Mrs Braggs took her son to Royal Sussex County Hospital and waited until 8pm for him to be seen.

She said: "It was a day of hell. I am utterly disgusted with the school because there seemed to be nobody there to help him when he needed them.

"The protest should have been much better organised and controlled."

Christopher's foot has been bandaged and he has been advised not to go to school for at least a week.

Richard Wing, deputy headteacher at Blatchington Mill School, said: "It was an unfortunate incident.

"There were staff all over the place trying to stop pupils leaving school grounds and none of them saw what happened to Chris.

"We have so far been unable to discover who was responsible for the incident so have been unable to take disciplinary action."

Last week, headteacher Neil Hunter said: "We have got a small minority of mindless idiots who decided they would take advantage of the situation to have half a day off school."