Parents hoping to send their child to a new free school have been dealt a further blow after intake numbers for the next two years were cut in half.

Deer Park School is due to open at a temporary site in September this year, while planning permission and development is sought for London House in Lower Mortlake Road, Richmond.

The school initially said it would take 60 reception pupils in two classes in the next academic year, but this week Bellevue Place Education Trust announced it would reduce the published admission number (Pan) for the first two intake years.

The announcement means the number of places on offer have been slashed by 50 per cent, with the school now taking just one class of 30 four and five-year-olds.

The school said it had a "view to revert" to the original advertised Pan of 60 from 2017 onwards.

Councillor Gareth Roberts, opposition spokesman for education, said the news was a blow for the council's school places planning.

He added: "Thirty planned new reception places have now been lost for at least two years and there's continuing uncertainty over the Twickenham Green free school; it is vital therefore that Councillor Paul Hodgins comes clean with parents and tells them what he plans to do to avoid the desperate last minute scramble to place children which we saw last year."

Coun Hodgins, cabinet member for schools, said the reduction to one form entry was caused by the availability of space at the school's proposed temporary site, which is yet to be announced.

He added: "We are pleased that the school will be able to open this September and provide 30 much-needed places for each of those years in an area of the borough where all the existing schools have been, or are being, expanded to their maximum capacity."

A spokeswoman from Bellevue Place Education Trust said it was committed to the development of a school that served the needs of the community.

She added: "Although the demand for places is prominent in Richmond, evidenced by the number of applications received from parents already in excess of the number of places we have available at Deer Park School, our temporary site restricts us to a lower admissions number in the first two years of operation.

"We have agreed to reduce our intake to 30 to ensure that we provide the best environment for our young learners and an excellent education experience for all."

Cutting pupil numbers was the second disappointment for parents, after the school was initially earmarked to be placed in East Twickenham.

A consultation event, chaired by MP Zac Goldsmith, takes place at the new Pavilion, Dancer Road, Richmond, from 1pm to 3pm on Friday, March 20.

The event will provide the opportunity to meet representatives from Bellevue Place Eduation Trust and Richmond Council, to discuss the proposed school site.