PENDLE MP Gordon Prentice has pledged to help Nelson and Colne College get extra cash.

He said it got less money per pupil than local school sixth forms.

The Labour backbencher is backing a campaign for fairer funding locally and nationally.

The Association of Colleges says schools get preferential treatment when it come to finance.

After meeting Nelson and Colne principal Dr Alison Birkinshaw at Westminster, where she told him that parity of funding with a sixth form would bring in an extra £500,000 a year for the college, he promised action.

Mr Prentice said: "The college has a significant number of 19-year-olds studying full-time alongside 16-18 students and there is an issue about how this is to be funded.

"The Learning and Skills Council has a pivotal role here and I shall be meeting Steve Palmer, the Chief Executive, shortly."