EASTERN European families staged a snap protest at a children’s centre in Bradford today against a council plan to axe services that puts hundreds of jobs at risk.

Under-threat St Edmund’s Nursery School at Girlington in Bradford serves an area which includes a community of families from eastern Europe.

Parents whose kids use the centre were given a briefing on Wednesday by children’s services managers about Bradford Council’s £13.6 million-a-year cuts plans, which involve closing some of the city’s children’s centres.

Closing the centres, which are currently used by 22,000 children up to four years old, would cost almost 500 staff their jobs.

The cuts will also target “preventative measures” services that identify families likely to face problems in the future and to take action to to stop them arising.

The St Edmund’s parents responded to the briefing by calling a protest at 24 hours notice.

David Tolmya from Slovakia was one of the parent organisers.

Mr Tolmya, who has lived and worked in Bradford for seven years, told the Star: “I have children aged two and four who use the centre.

“I was at the briefing. The managers told us they want to close centres to save £13 million a year, so we decided to protest.”

George Williamson of Bradford People’s Assembly, which backed the demo, said: “We are helping to promote the protest, but we must stress, this is their protest that they have called and are holding.”

Bradford PA and union Unite say that cutting preventative measures will mean more intensive support will be needed more often when families are in crisis.

They said the cuts would also mean 480 staff losing their jobs, mainly part-time women front-line workers.

As Tory cuts continue, Bradford Council will see its income halved by 2020 compared to the funding it received in 2010.

Unite and Bradford PA have organised their own demonstrations to raise public awareness of the proposed cuts to children’s services.