The parents of a schoolboy are appealing against the primary school place he has been given because it would be too painful for his mother to take him there.

Andy and Ilona Stone of May Road, Brighton, want their four-year-old son Thomas to go to Elm Grove School, which is 569 metres from their house.

Instead he has been allocated a place at Coombe Road School which is 1615 metres away.

But the Stones say it will be impossible to make the daily journey as Mrs Stone suffers from a medical condition called Sesamoiditis, in which small bones in her feet are inflamed making it painful for her to walk.

Mr Stone, who works as an interior designer in London, said: “Ilona's condition impairs her mobility and would mean that the 1615 metre walk, which includes extremely steep hills, would cause her severe pain and exacerbate the medical condition.

“In addition, she would also have to push our younger son, Daniel, in a buggy whilst accompanying Thomas to school, which would put further strain on her foot condition.”

The couple have appealed Brighton and Hove City Council's decision and are also requesting that Thomas is made a priority on the waiting list for Elm Grove on the basis that their case falls into the category of an “exceptional reason” to attend one particular school.

Mr Stone said: “We are very unlikely to win the appeals process so what we are asking for is to be re-categorised.

“If we can't get Thomas into our closest school we would have to look at home schooling or we would have to move, but we can't afford to do that.”

A council spokesman said: “We do not comment on individual cases relating to school admissions.

“But when parents bring to our attention extra information that they feel may affect a school admissions application we always consider it with sensitivity.

“We have to take all the evidence into account and see how this fits with our published admissions policies, and where appropriate take legal advice before reaching a decision regarding any request for special consideration.

“Our admissions policies make it clear that we do not take employment, including location of employment, into account when allocating school places.”