A defiant school has won the fight to stop a cash-strapped council selling its sport pitches in a bid to make money.

Kent County Council (KCC) this month revealed controversial proposals to offload tennis courts, a football pitch and 3G surface at Ashford’s John Wallis Academy.

But the authority has performed a dramatic u-turn after principal Damian McBeath’s petition to keep the land attracted a staggering 1,000 signatures in 40 minutes.

Speaking after the council’s recent decision, he told KentOnline: “It's a fantastic outcome for the children and the wider community at the school.

“It’s just a great example of community action and the impact on those making decisions when that community speaks with unity and clarity.

“I'm not sure if councillors, when they were voting on this, were fully aware of how much that land is used by the school and by the community.

“To give them their credit, when they saw the will and the view of the community on this, they were quite quick to change their minds.

“I want to say a huge thank you to everybody who took time to write to their MPs and councillors. We had over a thousand signatures on an online email and it was only up for about 40 minutes.”

Mr McBeath also highlighted the valuable contribution of Sojan Joseph, with the Ashford MP playing a key role in shedding light on the matter.

At a policy and resources cabinet committee meeting on March 5, councillors supported the proposal to dispose of the facility – named Courtside and Pitchside - stating it is surplus to Kent’s needs.

Struggling to pay debts worth £787 million, the council hoped to sell the land alongside a derelict plot next to John Wallis to recoup much-needed funds.

However, less than two weeks after the move was confirmed, intense pressure from parents, staff and the wider community has seen the authority now confirm it will u-turn on the decision.

The initial announcement stunned the school, who said no consultation with the governing body or leadership team was held before the decision was made.

It was the understanding of academy chiefs a meeting would be held in April to discuss the move, with the sudden news of the sale sparking a petition and countless emails in support of John Wallis.

But on March 17 KCC notified the school the plans had been dropped, Mr McBeath said.

With almost 2,000 pupils on site, the sports facilities are used in lessons for youngsters ranging from ages three to 19.

It is also at 90% occupancy for use in the community with various groups making use of the facilities.

“It would be good to give credit to the councillors who were brave enough to change the decision and to reverse the decision,” said Mr McBeath.

“I think that shows that they are listening to what the people wanted and what the community here wanted.”

A KCC spokesperson said: “KCC is committed to helping and supporting the education of young people across the county.

“We helped to fund the construction of the new John Wallis Academy and now need to sell the old, disused, former school building to invest money into services for the people of Kent.

“KCC has a duty to the people of Kent to sell surplus unused land so that we can reinvest the money back into critical services and infrastructure to benefit the community.

“The entire site is made up of a number of elements.

“We appreciate that the school and its community will be anxious regarding the scope of any disposal and whilst the disposal was discussed and supported at the recent Policy and Resources Committee, this is a non-decision making group and no formal decision had been taken regarding the extent of the areas that are to be included in the disposal.

“We can confirm that the courtside and pitchside areas which are currently leased by the academy will not form part of the disposal area."

While KCC says no formal decision has been taken on the sites to be sold off, Mr McBeath says the authority previously requested access to the school to begin "the marketing process of the sale of the various Stanhope Road sites that surround the John Wallis Academy which includes Pitchside and Courtside".

It added, he says: "Ourselves and our agents from time [to time] will need to visit both Courtside and Pitchside for pre-marketing reports and then showing potential buyers around."