Parents fighting the closure of a school in Liverpool, claiming it will put their children at risk of gang violence, have lost their High Court challenge against the decision.

Earlier this year, Liverpool City Council decided to shut Croxteth Community Comprehensive School from August 31, 2010.

But parents of pupils challenged the decision as “unlawful”. Their lawyers argued the council had failed to consider other “relevant” matters, including community cohesion, and that their human rights had been breached.

Katrina McDougal, who spearheaded the parents’ campaign, said she attached “great importance” to the murder of Rhys Jones in 2007. She is concerned that if her daughters have to be educated in another area they are “likely to be met by intimidation and threats from other pupils”.

However, following a day-long hearing last month, Mr Justice Silber dismissed the judicial review challenge and said the council’s decision- making process could not be faulted. rv.