Angry parents have clashed with council chiefs over controversial plans to shut rural schools in Angus.

Angus Council plan to transfer Stracathro Primary pupils to a revamped school at Edzell, and the currently empty Tarfside and Lethnot primaries would also be axed.

Two secondary schools may be cut to one in Arbroath, and Monifieth High would be replaced.

"My children are absolutely devastated - they've had a lot of discussions, a lot of tears, a lot of them saying 'why can't they just leave us? We love our school'," said mother Lynne Massie.

"They love their teachers, it's like a family.

"At the moment we're sitting at 72% capacity and it's such a small school that the teacher can spend a little more time with each child, making sure that she's getting it right."

At a public meeting on Tuesday night, parents made impassioned pleas to save their children's school, but councillor Mark Armstrong said the are trying to deliver the best quality learning environments.

He said: "We know that we have too many schools with too many school places across the entire county.

"They aren't necessary in all the right places, so part of what we're trying to do is make sure that we can have a sustainable school estate that's affordable, but within that we deliver the best quality learning environments for our children and young people."