Concerned parents have raised fears over the security of a Poole school which borders a public footpath.

Dog walkers stray onto the playing fields of Haymoor Middle School which are open to the heath, and parents fear for the safety of the eight to 12-year-old pupils.

“It’s not very secure,” said David Pawling, chairman of the Parents Association. “It’s like a school on the edge of a park.”

Gaps have been forced through gorse and a slatted wooden fence was set on fire at the school in Ashdown Close.

A petition signed by 260 parents calling for a secure fence has been presented to the Borough of Poole after cigarettes, bottles, broken glass and condoms were found in the grounds.

“Someone has legal responsibility for it,” said Mr Pawling.

He said parents had offered to fundraise towards a fence, which could cost £50,000. “What price can you put on the safety of a child?” he asked.

“People assume it’s an open space they can use,” he said. “Someone camped over one weekend on it and had to be removed from the field on Monday morning by school staff.”

Ward councillor Sandra Moore said the problem was inherited from Dorset County Council. “It’s really complicated and it needs to be sorted out,” she said.

Stuart Twiss, head of children and young people’s strategy, quality and improvement said: “Agreements about responsibilities for site perimeters made at the time of local government reorganisation are not clear.

“These need to be clarified for all parties sharing the site.

“The governing bodies will then be in a position to address the matters raised by parents.”