Parents have told Powys council chiefs to ditch controversial secondary school closure proposals and go back to the drawing board in their bid to reorganise education.

A public meeting in Llanfyllin last night heard the school plans compared to a “runaway train which needed to be stopped”.

And the 100 people who attended the meeting were also warned by Montgomeryshire MP Lembit Opik that closure of the area’s sixth forms was a “real possibility”.

The talks were organised by Glyn Davies, Conservative spokesman for Montgomeryshire, who released a leaked report about the Powys County Council proposals.

The proposals could see secondary schools at Llanidloes, Crickhowell, Gwernyfed, Llanfyllin or Llanfair Caereinion and Llandrindod Wells or Builth Wells closed and replaced with “learning centres” and “centres of excellence” .

Mr Davies suggested scrapping the Local Education Authority and devolving power to schools. The meeting was told that would save about £25 million.

Llanfyllin councillor Peter Lewis said: “We must fight this. Officers must be scrutinised and they know we are watching every move they make. This report has been a runaway train. It needs to be stopped, put in the siding and sent back to the station.”

Mr Opik said: “We must oppose closures of any schools and, explicitly, the sixth forms. You must write to your councillors and tell them not to get rid of our jewels as a superficial way of saving money.”

Meetings will be held in Llanfair Caereinion Institute at 6pm tomorrow and at Llanidloes Community Centre on February 3 at 7pm.