Four Hereford youngsters have convinced a county MP to take up their concerns about funding for blind or visually impaired students.

The four, who all attend the Royal National College for the Blind (RNC), were invited to attend a reception for Midlands Colleges hosted by Baroness Garden of Frognal on behalf of the Skills and Education Group and the Association of Colleges.

Joseph Roper, Ciaron Naughton, Tara Wheatley and Kelsey Trevett all attend the specialist further education college in Hereford.

Mr Wiggin, MP for North Herefordshire, met them on a busy day in Parliament - the day the no confidence motion in the Prime Minister was debated in the House of Commons.

But the students, aged 17-20, were focused not on the PM's fate but on concerns about the Special Educational Needs (SEN) system, which they feel is not suitable for those with visual impairment.

They told Mr Wiggin that mainstream education is increasingly unable to meet the needs of these students due to a lack of local expertise and cuts in services.

But local councils often only place students at the national college when local provision has broken down, or when their refusal faces a legal challenge.

Mr Wiggin agreed to raise these concerns in Parliament and to feedback to the students.

“I have always been deeply impressed by the skills visually impaired people can acquire from the RNC and every effort should be made to support them as these young people with visual impairments face up to the challenges of the 21st century.” he said.

Mark Fisher, College Principal at the RNC ,said: "I'm extremely proud of our students for making the trip to Parliament and expressing concern for other young people with visual impairments.

"At the RNC we work hard to develop our students’ skills in self-advocacy and this is a great example of the confidence they have gained".

Student Kelsey said: “The trip was an excellent way to celebrate the work RNC does for students like myself and acknowledge the challenges that we face."