A frustrated Lewisham parent has created a pressure group to campaign for children to be placed in local schools.

Jamie Mockridge, 40, owner of Arlo and Moe Cafe on Brockley Road created 'Parents For Primary Places' to put pressure on councils to place children in schools close to them.

Mr Mockridge's son, Arlo, was not given any of the six primary school places he applied for and has now been placed in a school in Forest Hill over three miles away.

Mr Mockridge and his partner would not be able to get Arlo to school and has urged Lewisham Council to create more places at local schools.

He said: "We filled out the application form based on the fact that the schools were relatively close to us and they were schools that we liked, most of them were no more than a mile away.

"We love being part of this community and we wanted Arlo to go to school round here, this was the whole idea.

"Lewisham Council found him a church of England school in Forest Hill, it would have been almost impossible to get him to school with me and my partner working full-time."

Mr Mockridge created the "Parents For Primary Places" to stop this from happening to other families, as he believes every child should be able to walk to school.

"It's not just because we didn't get any of our six choices, it's because we can't get our kids to school."

A Lewisham Council spokeswoman said: "Like most London boroughs, Lewisham continues to face an increasing demand for primary places.

"We constantly review this and work closely with schools to create more places where they are most needed.

"We also always encourage parents to include their most local school as one of their preferences.

"Every parent who made an on-time application has received an offer of a reception place for their child this September, with 93 per cent receiving one of their preferences.

"Where we have had to allocate, we take all possible steps to ensure it is to a school with a vacancy that is closest to the child's permanent home."

For more information, visit Parents for Primary Places or email parents4primaryplaces@gmail.com