MORE than a third of the summer university courses run by Epping Forest Council have been cancelled this year, leaving dozens of youths in the lurch.

Angry parents have contacted the Guardian after finding out at the last-minute that courses are off.

The council confirmed this week that 36 of the 98 courses had been cancelled but said more than 600 places were still booked on the remaining courses.

The courses range from football coaching and french to maths and Italian cooking and run during the school holidays, aimed at 11-19-year-olds.

One parent, Penny Midas-Rollo, of Epping was left fuming after her son was booked on four courses during four separate weeks in August, three of which were cancelled with the fourth being reduced to just one day.

The parent was infuriated further after only finding out about the cancellation when she rang Leisure Services the Friday before the first course was due to begin.

Mrs Midas-Rollo was told letters were being sent out and people with courses starting the next week were being telephoned, but she never received a letter or a phone call.

She said the previous two summer universities had been run "flawlessly" by the council's young persons officer, who has now resigned, and said the organisation of leisure services this year had been a "disaster".

She added: "I have no doubt whatsoever that with the previous council department in charge and the previous support team in place, this year's summer university would have outdone even the two that preceded it.

"Instead of which the whole Summer University project in the hands of the Leisure Services department is now a shambles.

"There needs to be an immediate internal enquiry at Epping Forest Council into the mismanagement that would appear to have precipitated this disaster," she said.

Epping Green mother Sue Wood had her daughter Kelsey, 14, booked on four courses, which were also cancelled or reduced, and she only found out through a friend.

She added: "I am gutted, but also I am annoyed at the way we have been treated. We were kept very much in the dark."

The council's leisure portfolio holder Chris Whitbread said other staff were covering the running of the university after the resignation of the council's young persons officer.

He said: "The summer university is a complex project to manage and unfortunately there are instances when courses have to be cancelled due to the non-availability of specialist tutors, lack of access to technical equipment and venues or poor take-up of certain courses.

"Such decisions are taken as a last resort but obviously the safety and welfare of the young people is the council's main consideration and courses will not be offered unless the appropriate standard for all aspects of their running have been met," he added.

Mr Whitbread said they made every effort to contact parents by phone when the courses were withdrawn at short notice and said only in rare instances there had been no reply.