More than 70 schoolchildren were left "stranded" on a school trip to France after their flight home was cancelled at short notice.

Pupils and teachers from Ardingly College near Haywards Heath had been due to fly home from Biarritz in the south of the country when they arrived at the airport to find that their easyJet flight was cancelled, leaving them with no way home.

The college says they are “very disappointed” with the airline – and a parent has slammed the company for being “irresponsible”.

EasyJet apologised for the delay, adding they offered alterative flights but the issue was resolved through the college's tour operator.

Jo Wheeler, whose 13-year-old son was among those at Toulouse Airport, said: “I think it was really irresponsible as there were no other flights coming back to Gatwick. They have a lot to answer for.

“It’s just a mess. The college were amazing but all those children were left stranded in a strange place.

“I’m angry that easyJet cancelled a flight with that many children on it knowing there wasn’t another flight.”

Jo said that the schoolchildren had been on a trip to Biarritz and were due to fly back from Toulouse to Gatwick on Friday evening.

But EasyJet said that on arriving at the airport the group were told that their flight had been cancelled due to "air traffic control restrictions caused by thunderstorms over France".

Ms Wheeler added that the group was told that no alternative flight was available until Tuesday, June 25.

A spokesman for the college said the school liaised with their travel company and were able to book alternative flights from Montpelier to Gatwick and from Toulouse to Bristol to get schoolchildren back to the UK.

The college said it was “very disappointed” with EasyJet for cancelling the flight.

Ben Figgis, headteacher at Ardingly, said: “We are hugely grateful to all the people who helped us get the children home safely, despite this cancellation.

“Above all, I want to pay tribute to our own teachers on the trip, who kept everyone’s morale up and ensured all the children were calm and safe, while finding efficient solutions.”

A spokesman for easyJet said the airline offered hotel accommodation, meals and alternative flights for the group but that the college declined and chose to book through their tour operator instead.

The airline said: "We are sorry that the group’s flight from Toulouse to London Gatwick on Friday was unable to operate due to air traffic control restrictions caused by thunderstorms over France which then led to the crew reaching their safety regulated operating hours.

“Whilst this was outside of our control, we understand the difficulty this will have caused and are in contact with them to apologise for the inconvenience, provide a refund for and reimburse the expenses they are due to ensure they are not out of pocket.

“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our highest priority.”