THE parents of a six-year-old girl who can only eat KFC popcorn chicken fear she will starve after her school banned the fast food.

Akira Gujadhur suffers from a rare eating disorder that means she can't eat anything other than bite-sized chunks of chicken.

Her parents Raj and Hem spend thousands of pounds on buying her takeaways twice a day and Akira used to get them delivered at her old school.

She is due to start at a new school that specialises in teaching autistic children but staff won't allow the KFC meals on the premises because they are unhealthy.

Mr Gujadhur said he has been left in the position where his daughter either starves at school or he quits his job so he can pick her up every lunchtime to take her to KFC.

Akira has Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) which started after she suffered a severe throat infection at eight months old that stopped her eating.

Doctors advised putting different foods in front of her until she selected something.

She chose a piece of popcorn chicken and has refused to eat anything else since. She is given vitamins to ensure she gets sufficient nutrients.

Akira's consultant at St Thomas' Hospital in London even wrote a letter to KFC asking them to give the family a supply of frozen popcorn chicken to help get her through lockdown.

Her old school could no longer cater for Akira's special educational needs so her parents secured her a place at Portfield School in Christchurch, Dorset.

The Gujadhurs appealed the school's decision not to allow KFC on the premises but lost their case at a local authority tribunal hearing.

Mr Gujadhur, a senior actuarial analyst for finance firm Capita, said: "We are very upset by how we have been treated. I think the school is acting so irresponsibly.

"Akira's old school was a mainstream school and were feeding her the popcorn chicken with no problem at all.

"But it cost around £2,000 a year and the local authority basically said food is not part of her educational needs so they could not pay for it anymore.

"Portfield School have said they are happy to offer her a place but don't want her to eat popcorn chicken because it's fast food and they say she needs to eat healthily.

"I just don't understand it because it's a specialist school for people like Akira who have additional needs.

"Akira can't speak and she doesn't understand.

"The local authority is saying she can't go to school without food but the school is saying she can't eat the only thing she eats at school.

"The tribunal seem to basically be saying it's the parents' problem.

"They are saying if we feel she can't stay at school without food, we will have to go every lunchtime, pick her up, feed her and bring her back.

"The school is 50 minutes from my work and we're not allowed to feed her at the school, we'd have to take her KFC or take her home to feed her then bring her back.

"My wife doesn't drive and I can't take hours out of work. The only alternative is to starve her at school.

"They're not being helpful at all.

"We've got friends who have children there. One of them only eats sausages and she is allowed to bring sausages to school but they won't let Akira have popcorn chicken.

"How can they force her not to eat the only thing she has been eating for the last five years?

"If they said she could eat at school we would be happy to pay for the deliveries and I don't see how it would affect other children as once delivered it could be put into a lunchbox and look similar to any other lunch."

The school doesn't agree with takeaway food being brought into school or being eaten in front of other pupils.

The school also raised concerns at the tribunal about the risk of allergens to other pupils' well-being.

A spokesman for Portfield School, which is managed by Autism Wessex, said: "At Autism Wessex, our top priority is the welfare and safety of all of our students and service users, and at no point would we allow any child or young adult to be put at risk of harm.

"As the privacy of each child is one of our highest priorities, we will not be commenting in relation to this specific case; only that we are required to follow the judge's ruling as an outcome from a tribunal hearing."

Councillor Sandra Moore, portfolio holder for children and families at BCP (Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole) Council, said: "We are aware of the outcome of the tribunal and accept the findings.

"We are working with Portfield School and the family over the arrangements to support the successful transition to the new school."