A PETITION with more than 1,700 signatures calling for the town's swing bridges to be cleaned and repainted has been presented to Peel Ports.

The campaign, which was launched last year by the Liberal Democrats, has gained momentum at street stalls, through leaflets and online.

Stockton Heath parish and Appleton borough councillor Peter Walker thanked the public for the response to the petition.

He said: "We could have gathered many thousands more because just about everyone we asked has signed up.

"This reflects the strength of public feeling about this issue. People are very angry about the poor appearance and corrosion of these bridges and think Peel should do something about them.

"Their current state lets the area down badly. Similar bridges like the one over the Weaver Navigation are immaculate by comparison demonstrating that such maintenance is feasible.

"We have been campaigning for a long time to make Peel Holdings and the Manchester Ship Canal Company show more respect for the community in which they operate by painting the bridges and ensuring that they swing quickly and are reliable to minimise traffic disruption in the town."

Stockton Heath borough council candidate Cllr Graham Welborn, who will be standing in the village on May 5 alongside Cllr Walker, was also critical of the organisation after taking note of its corporate social responsibility policy.

He said: "We think Peel should practice what it preaches.

"We are pleased that other political parties have joined our campaign but we are disappointed that so far Peel seems to be unwilling to take any notice of anyone.

"We intend to keep up the pressure and hope that one day Peel will take notice of what the public is saying.

"Peel has massive business interests in and around Warrington and we want them to be successful but we also want them to show their support for people who take pride in their town."

Warrington's three swing bridges which cross the Manchester Ship Canal are situated on Chester Road, London Road and Knutsford Road.