MORE than 80 parents demanded that a Southampton school is left untouched in a planned shake-up to tackle surplus places due to declining birth rates.

Parents at Redbridge Primary school attended the third of four public meetings held as part of a review into school places in Redbridge and Millbrook.

Education bosses have outlined proposals to reduce the number of school places by 400.

Among the proposals is an option to close the 126-pupil Mansel Infant and 161-pupil Mansel Junior schools, which together have 133 spare places.

Other proposals include the expansion and relocation of Redbridge Primary, which currently has about 200 pupils.

Other schools affected include Mason Moor Primary, Newlands Primary, Tanners Brook Infant and Junior schools.

Parents at Redbridge Primary yesterday set up a 'Save Our School' campaign and demanded that the school remain at its current site - and size - in Redbridge Road.

Maria Murphy, of Redbridge ,whose five-year-old daughter Hannah is a pupil at the school, said: "We are not happy. We feel that the future of our school is out of our hands.

"If it was our decision, the council would let us keep the school. My daughter has special needs and we need her here, it's the best school for her. It's a real community - small and caring. We won't let it go."

Southampton City Council's head of learning services Rosemary Tong said: "There will be 22 per cent more places than we need by the year 2008/2009, and that's a lot."

The final public meeting will take place tonight at Mansel Junior, Culver Close, from 7.30pm to 9pm.

The City Council's Cabinet will make a final recommendation on the plans at a meeting on May 9.