FEARS have been raised controversial cuts to Oxfordshire's children’s centres could still go ahead even if the High Court rules they are illegal.

Lawyers for parents seeking to quash the decision warned they may only win a "stale victory" after the county council vowed to continue "ploughing on" regardless of proceedings.

Defending the local authority at Birmingham Administrative Court on Wednesday, Peter Oldham QC said this was because overturning the changes would be like trying to "turn back time".

He warned children’s centre staff were quitting their jobs "at a rate of knots" and cash had already been spent after decisions by the full council on February 16 and cabinet on February 23.

The barrister told Mr Justice Langstaff: "We are collecting council tax to meet the budgets set and we have spent money since the decision on February 23.

"And we have taken the decision-making process forward and this in turn had a very significant effect on staff.

"You will see from the evidence they are leaving at a great rate of knots.

"It is a great time of anxiety. An awful lot is moving forward and you cannot turn back time.

"Judicial reviews are about reality. We will be ploughing on with these plans.

"That is a fact of life."

But the parents behind the legal challenge could now seek an injunction to stop the council from pressing ahead with the changes, which are due to take effect next March.

David Wolfe QC, speaking for prosecution, told the court the council said in correspondence that an injunction was "not necessary" in May.

He added: "It now emerges they engaged a contractor following the February meeting but they did not tell us.

"We do not want a victory to be a stale victory because of their ‘ploughing on’.

"If it involves anything irrevocable, we want to make sure the ring is held."

It came on the second day of hearings in the legal challenge against the children’s centres shake-up.

The parents who launched the bid are acting on behalf of their children and cannot be named for legal reasons.

In a bid to stop funding being pulled from 31 of 44 children’s centres and two of seven early intervention hubs, they have argued the county council made the decision on the wrong basis and did not carry out the right assessments.

The council rejects the claims.

Mr Justice Langstaff is now deciding whether to grant a judicial review and quash the decision.

The legal challenge has been welcomed by the Save Oxfordshire's Children's Centres campaign, which called the council's approach "morally wrong".

Spokeswoman Ellie Bard said: "We want to thank all those mothers, fathers, grandparents, professional partners, councillors and the public who have opposed and continue to oppose children's centre closures.

"These closures are morally and financially wrong and it is now up to the High Court to judge if they are also unlawful."