A mother was reduced to tears after her two-year-old son was turned away from a playgroup when she revealed he had Down's syndrome.

Heidi Boxall, of Whippingham Road, Brighton, called Oranges and Lemons playgroup in Woodingdean to find a nursery place for her son Harry.

At first she was told they would be happy to take her little boy and she was invited to visit and look around.

But when she said Harry had Down's syndrome she was told the playgroup could not take him because there was no one trained to look after children with the condition.

Mrs Boxall said: "I cried my eyes out when I put the phone down.

"He doesn't need one-to-one care, but I wasn't asked any questions about Harry. It was just, 'I'm sorry we can't take him'.

"Harry might need special needs education later on in his life, but at this stage he is just like any other two-year-old.

"He's perhaps just a little behind but that is all."

The next day she told her friend Jeannette Hobden about the situation. She rang the playgroup to complain.

Mrs Hobden said: "His mum explained that he didn't have special needs.

"He is very bright, mobile, very loveable and only slightly behind his peers.

"All he needs is the understanding and compassion of a very blinkered group of adults."

Teresa Willis, head teacher at Oranges and Lemons, said she had told pre-school teacher Pauline Bliss to turn Harry down for a place at the group, which is run by parents.

She said: "We are so sorry, we really are. We were 100 per cent wrong. It should not have happened and I'm just very sorry.

"We have learned so much from this. It's a situation we have never been in before.

"Pauline just passed the message on from me. In all fairness, I felt I didn't have the facilities. I know now that is not the point, I do realise that.

"I didn't think we would have the resources for a child with Down's Syndrome. I felt we couldn't give the child the care he deserved.

"Admittedly, not enough questions were asked. We will not let it happen again."

While the Boxall family accepts the playgroup has done its best to make amends, Mrs Boxall said she would feel uncomfortable sending Harry there now.

He has now been accepted by another playgroup.