A Falmouth University graduate has burnt his degree in protest at the potential closure of the arts foundation course and what he calls "a long line of decisions which benefit a few financially over the good of the community."

Tom Stockley, who graduated in fine art, described his move as "an act of solidarity with the families who can’t afford to live where they want to, the staff who’ve lost their jobs, the future students who don’t have a place and the ones who are told they aren’t 'good enough.'"

Writing on his blog, he said that his university experience had come at a price, with universities governed by a "business-centric callousness" where education is prostituted.

He ended by saying: "I know I can’t change how things are run, and I know that the university can provide a myriad of reasons, facts and figures to support their decisions. But I hope that [the university] will begin to understand people’s fears and frustrations, that our voice will be heard and that an honest and equal dialogue can be opened between us all.

"Here’s my degree – I don’t want it any more."