BURNLEY students have joined calls for fairer funding for colleges in a bid to see through their college's move to a new building.

Plans by the town's further education centre to move into a multi-million pound new home could be scuppered because it can't get the cash to pay for the move.

Now 800 students have signed a petition asking why the planned £40million move from the ageing 1909 Ormerod Road base, to a new town centre site, will only be half paid for by the government.

The college will have to find an unrealistic £20million if it wants to move -- a sum that will not be covered by the sale of the current base, which is worth less than £1million.

But if the college is forced to abandon the plans, it will leave three out of four students who go on to further education being taught in old and cramped conditions at a time when secondary schools are being revamped as part of the Building Schools for the Future scheme.

Under the BSF programme, a new multi-faith sixth form will be entirely funded by the Learning and Skills Council, a discrepancy Burnley College principal John Smith says is unfair.

A group of students went to the town hall, in Manchester Road, to deliver the petition to councillors Peter Kenyon and Stuart Caddy, the council leader.

Ruth Warman, 17, an art and design student from Padiham, said: "I think it is important that we have equal opportunities for colleges and that we are able to move into our new building."

A-Level student Lynsey Parry, 18, added: "I have younger brothers and sisters and I think it is important that we are given equal treatment for the next generation."

Law, English and psychology student Mark Ashworth, 18, said: "The facilities at the college are good, but they do need updating and we are doing this to try and help youngsters who will be going through the college in the future."

Billy Bleasdale, 21, who is studying IT, said: "The old buildings at the college do cause problems, especially in my subject and it is important that we have better facilities."

College principal Mr Smith has written to the Learning and Skills Council, the government quango responsible for over-16s education, to ask it to look at the anomaly.

The college's plight has also been raised by Coun Kenyon, who put a motion before the full council earlier this month asking for support for the college.

The motion was backed unanimously.

The need to move has been backed by both OFSTED, which gave the college a glowing report but pointed out the cramped accommodation, and the college's own consultants, employed to look into a move, as well as the Lancashire Learning and Skills Council.