MORE than a thousand people have backed a campaign opposing plans for a mini-mart on a busy Worcester road.

Shopkeepers in London Road are concerned over road safety and fear proposals for a Tesco Express shop could affect their businesses.

A 1,272-name petition opposing the store, planned for Esso's Larkhill Service Station, was handed to Labour's parliamentary candidate Mike Foster yesterday.

"Anyone else who wants to object must write in to the planning sub-committee by Monday morning," said Worcester city councillor Nazrul Islam. "We want to encourage mothers, fathers and schools to write in regarding traffic, safety for children, and visibility. There's a conservation area down the back, and a Tesco Express could prove to be detrimental."

Russell Jones, who owns general store Pause for Thought next to the service station said London Road was "'very narrow" and the "squealing brakes" of cars were heard "many times each day".

"There's always broken glass down here," he said. "There's a dip at the railway bridge which causes a blind spot."

If the application is given the go-ahead it will increase the size of the current site by almost four times to make room for the new store and 17 parking spaces.

"People will come here who now go to the larger Tesco and it will be chaos. It will also bring traffic away from the park-and-ride," Mr Jones told Mr Foster.

Mr Foster said a petition of around 1,300 names was "an important matter".

"My job is to let the planning authority know exactly the real concerns that exist in this community," he said. "There will be some time delay before the planning committee takes a decision. People arguably say it will rip the heart out of the town.

"My concern is how the wider community will lose out. This is a busy junction, and technical matters need to be addressed such as safety and traffic."

Esso spokeswoman Sophie Foale said there were 31 Tesco Express stores in operation.

"They seem to enhance the local community rather than make it into a ghost town," she said. "On these sites we employ around 30 people which is a benefit to the local community.

"The public perception is it's going to take over the forecourt, but it's just a shop, not a big hypermarket."