Protesters from Richmond College have been banned from marching through Twickenham to air their opposition to Government education cuts.

Students and staff from the college were planning to march from Richmond College in Egerton Road to Vince Cable's office in Lion Road, to protest about cuts to the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for poorer students.

But police stopped the group marching because it would have caused too much disruption and insufficient time was given.

Maggie Fordham, march organiser, said: “We were planning to march peacefully along the high street down to Vince Cable's office and have a couple of speeches and then to deliver a letter. The police denied permission as they said we had to give them more notice.

“We are going to walk through Twickenham but we will not be allowed to display banners. They have given us permission just to assemble outside Vince Cable's office but they are putting up barriers.”

The Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “The route they wanted was huge, it would have caused masses of disruption. You would have needed traffic management and to notify businesses. Under the legislation [the unions] need to provide six days’ notice and they failed to do so, so it could not go ahead.”

Currently 50 per cent of students at Richmond College get the £30-a-week EMA, higher than the national average, but the Government plans to scrap the fund.

Today there are a number of marches across the country to resist the cuts, while the Labour leader Ed Miliband has backed the marchers. The Twickenham protest will now only take place outside Vince Cable's office.

Chairman of the college’s branch of the University College Union (UCU), Dave Carrier, said “These are troubled times but only through sustained action can we begin to roll back these draconian attacks on our students and our livelihoods.”