Supporters of a plan to open a Hindu faith school in Croydon protested outside council offices last week.

Armed with banners, the demonstrators spent two hours protesting outside Taberner House on March 30, after the council rejected the bid submitted by the I-Foundation to open the school on the site of the Davidson Centre, Addiscombe, in September.

The school which is proposed to open on September 1, would cater for pupils aged between 4 and 11.

It's initial intake would be 120 pupils but it would provide places for 840 children.

Despite collecting 6,500 signatures of residents in the catchment area who are in support of the school, the education charity's application was turned down by the council, who expressed concerns about their capacity to run the primary school.

Oasis Community Learning also applied to open an academy at the site, but were also refused.

Protestor Nitin Mehta, 58, said: "To not give the school to us was a very unfair decision. They said they don't believe we have the capacity to run the school but we already have three other schools, in Harrow, Leicester and Redbridge.

"We felt it was an unfair decision and the council need to come up with a better explanation. The council is saying to us that we do want a Hindu faith based school but not this year."

A spokesman for Croydon Council said: "The council has not ruled out working with the I-Foundation in the future at another site, but its application for this particular site was not suitable."