A school at the heart of a row about LGBT relationship education will close early for half-term amid escalating protests. Parents have been demonstrating outside Anderton Park Primary School in Birmingham for seven weeks.

They argue pupils are "too young" to understand LGBT relationships through storybooks. The council said the decision to close at lunchtime on Friday, instead of 14:30 BST, was "not taken lightly".

Birmingham City Council leader Ian Ward said demonstrations outside the school had "escalated significantly over the past week". He said pupils and staff had "shown remarkable resilience in the face of increasingly unpleasant protests".

Another demonstration is planned for Friday. Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips tweeted she would "stand and fight" after she said the school was "forced to shut because of bullies and bigots".

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said it was "unacceptable that children at Anderton Park are missing out on education because of the threat of protests". "I support and trust head teachers to make decisions in the interests of their pupils. It is time for these protests to stop," he said.

Although Anderton Park does not teach No Outsiders, parents argue the school's teachings are "the same". Read more via BBC