More than 100 families gathered at a hastily organised protest in Chislehurst after plans for a new school were kicked in to touch by councillors.

Screams of "shame on you" were directed to Bromley councillors after they rejected a planning application for Bullers Wood School for Boys on Thursday night. Furious parents wondered why the planning application - which was accepted in October 2017 - was now being dismissed.

The site of St Hugh's playing fields in Bickley was hoped to accommodate 900 pupils and is already home to nearby Bullers Wood School for Girls in St Nicholas Lane.

Bromley has a shortage of available secondary school places - it is estimated there will be a shortage of 2,600 places by 2022.

The council u-turn was announced after legal advice was taken after an independent planning inspectorate highlighted "highway safety" concerns.

More than 400 people gathered for protest in Chislehurst on Sunday (January 28) at 48 hours notice when Thursday's anger was replaced with a steely determination.

Nancy Lengthorn organised the protest and is the leading campaigner of Bullers Wood School For Boys Local Residents' Support Group.

She has four children, three of whom are boys, and spoke to News Shopper about the atmosphere on Thursday night when Bromley Council announced its u-turn.

"It was terrible," she began. "People were extremely emotional and angry. Children were in tears. It was very unpleasant, lots of screaming."

The protest was quickly organised which inspired over 400 people to demonstrate their objections.

She said: "If we had a week's notice I think we could double the numbers. Bromley Council backed the wrong horse, they misunderstood the strength of feeling. This is not going away. We are going absolutely nowhere.

"We will keep going until the school opens. If it is not this September it will be next."

MP Bob Neill and Labour councillor Angela Wilkins have both written to the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to request that he intervenes on Bromley Council's decision.

Cllr Wilkins said the committee meeting "was like a Monty Python sketch".

The committee voted nine to seven against Kier Construction's planning application. In October 2017, they voted nine to seven in favour of the school.

Jane Cowie hoped her son would be one of the pupils attending the new school in September.

She said: "My son will now have to leave extremely early to stand any chance of getting on already overcrowded buses. Or on the occasions I can, I will drive him, clogging up the roads even further at peak times.”

After the committee meeting, Bromley Council's executive councillor for education, children and families, councillor Peter Fortune said: "As a result of the decision reached this evening regarding Bullers Wood Boys School please be assured that the local authority is still ready to meet the demand for secondary school places in the Borough.

"Admissions officers stand ready to accept calls to reassure parents that a place will be available for their son."

Chairman of the development control committee Peter Dean added: "This was an immensely difficult decision.

"The committee accepted the concerns identified in Inspector’s report about the road safety and traffic concerns and in these circumstances, decided to refuse the application.”