A primary school which has been at the heart of village life for 100 years has been forced to close its doors amid accusations of managerial negligence.

Wiltshire County Council took the decision to shut St Mary's C of E Primary School in Steeple Ashton at a cabinet meeting on Monday.

The eight pupils still being taught at the school will move to nearby Keevil, the C of E school in the next village, by April.

The number of pupils had dropped to 22 when governors backed a decision by the Wiltshire County Council, as the local education authority and the Diocese of Salisbury to close the school last autumn.

In 1998, Government inspectors placed the school under special measures following an Ofsted report which highlighted bad management, lack of resources and dwindling numbers, a situation which remained unrectified until last year.

Chairman of governors Sarah Content fears the fate of St Mary's sends a message of doom to other village schools across west Wiltshire.

She said: "There were no options left and the best thing now for the children is to close the school and move on.

"But there is blame and negligence everywhere you look, no one person is responsible for the closure but blame lies with the governors, the LEA and the Salisbury Diocese.

"The LEA could have intervened earlier but they didn't want to. They prefer schools to be in urban areas that run at a profit instead.

"Beware all other village schools because until the authorities get to grips your fate may be the same as ours."

Councillors will now investigate whether problems at the school flagged up by the Ofsted report could have been identified earlier.

Bob Wolfson, director of the department for children, education and libraries, said: "We have an Independent Review Group which looks into schools facing difficulty and I think there were things we could have done differently.

"We have made every effort to ensure the children are moved to a similar school in Keevil which is also voluntary controlled and hope that the parents are also happy with that."

Keevil Primary School has welcomed the extra pupils. Headteacher Mo Laycock said: "I am sad that it has come to a school having to close down but delighted to welcome the new pupils from Steeple Ashton.

"This will make a difference to our school because it will boost numbers and add an extra village to our catchment area."

Villagers are now in negotiations with the Diocese of Salisbury to keep the school building open for educational use.

The board of governors will be issuing a notice of closure next week.