Anxious parents are planning to march on Downing Street to fight for the future of an out-of-school childcare scheme.

Parents of children who attend the Kidzone in Holme Wood are to join forces and lobby Prime Minister Tony Blair, MPs and councillors to seek funding for the group.

The project, which has been running for five years, cares for 60 children before and after school each day. It is using up its savings after a European Development Fund grant dried up earlier this year.

If a bid now in for lottery funding fails, Kidzone faces closure, which could force some parents to give up their jobs.

Single parent Karen White, whose 11-year-old son Warren uses the scheme, said: "Other schemes cost £100 a week per child, and for people like me who don't earn much more than that, it wouldn't be worth working.

"I know my son is safe and not causing trouble when he's at Kidzone. He can be looked after all day during the school holidays."

Parents are angry that Kidzone would not qualify for some of the £300 million in Government cash being made available to set up out-of-school childcare centres. The reason is the scheme is already established and the funds are for new projects.

Kidzone is run by ten permanent staff at the Ryecroft Community Centre and Edward's Rainbow Centre. It cares for children aged from four to 13 and costs £160,000 a year to run. Fees to parents are subsidised so they pay 40 per cent of the cost.

Mrs White, of Daniel Court, said parents would be lobbying Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe, after which she hoped protesters would go to London to demonstrate in Downing Street.

She said: "We need to go all the way. Kidzone is vital for parents who work and it needs to survive for future generations."

Kidzone childcare manager Helen Austin said the centre provided just the type of service sought by the Government.

She said: "At the moment we're lurching from one grant to the next."

Gerry Sutcliffe said he hoped additional places could be made available under the Government's New Deal initiative so schemes such as Kidzone could get funding.

He said: "Kidzone faces the problem suffered by many voluntary groups in that they have to continually seek funding on top of their normal work.

"Kidzone is a brilliant scheme and I would be willing to help them win backing."

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