NORTH Somerset Council could be taken to the High Court by a young man with learning difficulties over its cuts to youth services.

Aaron Hunt and his mother Alison have launched a judicial review bid after saying the authority’s cuts have left youngsters ‘distraught’.

The 21-year-old’s bid states the council failed to take the special needs of people using the youth services into account when, last year, it rubberstamped proposals to cut its youth budget by 71 per cent over four years.

That means clubs such as the Girls Project at The Barn in Clevedon, Timeout Sessions at Clevedon Community School and the Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian, Confused Group at Nailsea Youth House have since stopped.

Mr Hunt, who is from Banwell and used to attend a youth group in Weston, said his group of friends was like a ‘family’, and the cuts had: “Made me very sad, and my friends sad too. It has ripped us apart.”

His mother said: “The council doesn’t know what it’s doing to the youngsters of North Somerset - they are our future and this could have a serious impact for years to come.”

A spokesman for the council said it had given a ‘full and robust response’ to the claim, and said it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.

They will hear whether the bid will progress to the High Court in the next few days.