Plans for a new class for autistic children at a York special school do not go far enough, parents say.

City education chiefs are expected to approve the new class, which will be at Lidgett Grove School, when they meet on Wednesday.

It will have room for six severely autistic young children, and will be stocked with a whirlpool bath, ball pool and play area, as well as having specialist equipment and fully-trained staff.

But parents of older autistic youngsters said today they felt let down by the scheme, which would be for younger children only.

Mandy Brunskill, whose son, Liam, is almost six, said he would be unable to attend the new class and she was considering legal action against the council to force it to give him the education he really needed.

Liam goes to Northfields special school, where he is in a mixed class of children with autism and other learning difficulties.

Mandy, of Linden Grove, York, insists the classes are too big, and the teachers not specialist enough, for Liam to get the attention he desperately needs there.

The founder of the York Autism/ Aspergers Support Group, said: "There's nothing for Liam. He's six this year, and I'm getting really depressed.

"The professionals say there is no cure, but the best hope is the right education. They're not doing that and we're just seeing the years wasted with nothing being done for us.

"I'm getting a solicitor, and looking for a tribunal to say they're not providing for Liam's needs."

There are 47 autistic children in York. Most are in special schools, but there is no specialist provision just for autistic children.

Steve Grigg, the council's principal educational psychologist, said an outreach worker, Glynis Bevan, had already been appointed to work with parents.

The Lidgett Grove scheme, likely to open in September, was a further attempt to boost services, he said.

Long-term plans could include an autism-only class at Northfield for older children - but he admitted there were so far no concrete proposals.

Ros Houghton, whose son, Nathaniel, has autism, conceded the Lidgett Grove scheme was "a start".

But she said it did not help her own son - and she would be pressing ahead with her own tribunal case against the council, due to be heard on May 8, in an effort to make them send him to a specialist autism school somewhere else.

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