THE BBC says it is willing to investigate claims by a former Notts man about the behaviour of Jimmy Savile in the early 1970s.

David Hardwick says he expressed concerns with his immediate boss after he had appeared on Savile's radio show Speakeasy in 1971 or 1972.

Savile hosted the show, a discussion programme for teenagers on Radio One, from 1969 to 1973.

Mr Hardwick, who appeared on the show after he founded a young people's group, said that, afterwards, he was given a lift back to his home town of Mansfield with Savile in the star's motor home.

He said that when they stopped at a service station, he got out for something to eat.

He returned to see two girls, who he believed were aged 13 to 15, emerge from the vehicle looking "dishevelled".

He said he challenged Savile, who replied along the lines of: "That's what I get wherever I go, they're just fans."

He added: "Savile was very flustered when he came out. I would almost say he was defensive.

Mr Hardwick said he raised the incident with the show's producer, who in turn spoke to a manager.

Mr Hardwick, 67, says they were told to drop the complaint, for fear of losing their jobs.

"I was told, 'because it's only a suspicion, and because it's Jimmy Savile, it's best that we leave it alone'.

"I'd mentioned it to a couple of people in passing over the years. But until this all came out, I'd decided it was just a suspicion."

He said he would now raise his concerns with the BBC.

A BBC spokesman said: "We are not able to comment on individual names.

"But where allegations of this nature are made to the BBC, they will be passed to the BBC Investigations Unit or directed to the police".

Mr Hardwick, who now lives in Bradshaw Avenue, Riddings, near Alfreton, is retired from his most recent job as a courier.

He has also written several books and is currently writing his autobiography, which he says will include his time spent in prison for business fraud.

There are a number of investigations ongoing into claims of child abuse made against Savile.

These include three BBC inquiries – one into the corporation's culture during Savile's career; one into the dropping of a Newsnight report about Savile; and one into the handling of past sexual harassment claims.

A MAN trapped his leg while trying to knock down a disused shed.

The fire service was called to Kent Road, Mapperley, at 10.30am yesterday and the man was freed.

He was taken to hospital by ambulance.

The extent of his injuries is not known.

MORE than 150 jobs are still up for grabs at a sports retailer's warehouse.

Sports Direct is looking for candidates to fill the roles at its Shirebrook plant.

The Post reported in September that the company was offering 500 jobs, 350 of which have now being snapped up.

Now recruitment agency Blue Arrow is looking to put on transport from Nottingham to the warehouse for people who don't have their own car.

The agency said it had received a huge level of interest in the announcement that the jobs were available, with inductions being held daily.

A spokesman said: "To date, 350 jobs have been filled, leaving 150 left to fill.

"We have had a huge level of interest in these roles, perhaps more than expected. We have had a lot of people contact us who live in Nottingham and are keen to work with Sports Direct but have said they don't have access to transport so are unable to get to the warehouse, which has prevented them from applying to work there.

"In response to that, Blue Arrow has arranged for a minibus to be able to pick people up from the city. They don't want them to miss out on the chance of a job because of where they live."

The 500 new staff will join the 3,000-strong workforce already employed at the plant.

The firm says it needs more staff to cope with growing demand because of rising interest in sport caused by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The staff are being employed on a month-by-month basis but the company is confident that the jobs will be long term.

The staff are working as pickers, helping out in the distribution side of the business as well as its growing web department.

Staff are needed to start work straight away.

Jo Fox, of Blue Arrow, said: "We have been encouraged by the interest level in these jobs. It is a big boost to the local area."

Sports Direct is one of many companies offering large numbers of jobs in Notts.

Asda is seeking 600 staff to work at a new home delivery centre in Bulwell, while the Lenton-based Pizza Factory is training up 100 unemployed people for jobs there.

Meanwhile, 35 jobs were created at a new Iceland store, which has opened in Nuthall Road, Cinderhill.

THOUSANDS of pieces of furniture from the London Olympics will be sold off at an auction in Nottingham this weekend.

People from up and down the country are expected to go along to the sale at the Arthur Johnson & Sons auction house, in Meadow Lane, on Sunday.

More than 60,000 individual pieces of furniture or equipment will be up for grabs including stackable chairs, lockers and even luggage trolleys.

Thousands of competitors' beds from the athletes' village will also go under the hammer as well as the mattresses they slept on, the sofas they relaxed on in their rooms and wardrobes they hung their kit in.

All items were used during the summer games, some by officials, journalists and VIP guests and others by the athletes themselves.

The sale is primarily aimed at trade buyers as items will be sold in large quantities.

However, a mini-auction will also raise money for the Royal British Legion.

Phil Poyser, managing director of Arthur Johnson and Sons, said: "There has never been a sale like this in Britain and we are looking forward to welcoming organisations who are likely to want to buy furniture in large quantities, such as sports clubs, hotels, schools and community groups.

"Not only was everything used in some form or other at the Olympics, but that is complemented by the fact that this is all top-quality furniture and there are going to be some very good deals to be had."

Although there is no record of who actually used the items, each will come bearing a sticker certifying that it was used at the Games.

Mr Poyser added: "We may not be able to confirm whether or not a customer has bought the actual bed Usain Bolt slept in the night before winning the 100 metres but we can say their purchases are genuine souvenirs of arguably the best sporting competition staged in this country.

"That unique history, plus the fact there will be some great deals, promises to make Sunday's sale a fantastic one-off event."

The company says just a "fraction" of the lots on sale will be displayed at the auction house, which is hosting two viewing days, on Friday and Saturday.

The sale starts at 12.30pm on Sunday and people will also be able to bid online at www.ibidder.com. For more information, visit www.arthurjohnson.co.uk

A MAN who stole underwear from six women in a Notts village has been jailed for three years.

Nigel Hewing, 55, targeted houses in Radcliffe-on-Trent over the course of ten years, sometimes returning to the same one more than once, before he was finally caught in June.

He would break into homes while the occupants were out and search for underwear, usually taking pillowcases from beds to use as makeshift bags for them.

Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday, Hewing, of Bakerdale Road, Carlton, admitted 13 counts of burglary, one of theft and one of attempted burglary.

Georgia Moore, chairman of Radcliffe-on-Trent Parish Council, said she was pleased to see justice being done.

Mrs Moore, who has lived in the village all her life, said: "It doesn't matter whether it's underwear or computers, all break-ins are very serious and it's good to see the courts recognise the pain burglary can cause.

"Radcliffe is a lovely place to live and it is usually quiet.

"Of course, we have some problems every now and then but what this man has done will have been upsetting to the victims.

"It just goes to show how important it is to report all crimes to the police because they do produce results when they piece things together."

Hewing's crimes came to light when he tried to break into the home of his most recent victim, a 45-year-old woman, on June 20.

When she returned home from work, she discovered damage to a door and the key to the porch had been taken.

She reported this to police and revealed that she had been the victim of a burglary four years earlier in which her underwear and a pillowcase were stolen.

She also explained that underwear had been stolen from her washing line just the day before.

Police traced and interviewed Hewing, who drove a silver Mercedes, and he confessed he had broken into several other houses in Radcliffe-on-Trent over the years to steal women's underwear.

Detective Constable Alan Oxley, of West Bridgford CID, said: "Initially, Hewing appeared very unassuming and came across as an average man – not sinister or threatening at all.

"But as we began to question him, the extent of his devious offending became clear.

"He began to break into houses and steal women's underwear about ten years ago and it became a sort of obsession for him.

"The impact his actions had on the victims should not be underestimated. They were left feeling frightened and violated, scared that he would return when they were at home and possibly assault them.

"Some even accused people close to them of being responsible for the theft of their underwear.

"He would monitor his victims and become familiar with their daily routine and knew when they were not home and so he could carry out his criminal deeds without being disturbed. He broke into one woman's house on five occasions over five years."

A NOTTS woman says she has suffered a decade of torment after falsely believing she had cancer.

Paula Gelsthorpe had invasive surgery twice to remove lumps from her left breast in September 2002 and January 2009 – but has since found out the lumps were benign and the operations unnecessary.

Miss Gelsthorpe, 54, of Long Croft, Calverton, has spoken out after it emerged that surgeon Ian Paterson is being investigated by the General Medical Council.

Miss Gelsthorpe, who was born in Bilsthorpe, said: "The letter telling me the lumps were benign was a huge relief but the more I thought about it, the angrier I became.

"I lived for ten years thinking that I had cancer and just kept on wondering when they would find a third lump. It was mental torture.

"And that's on top of the actual operations themselves, which have obviously caused a lot of discomfort and scarring. I just want answers to find out how this happened."

The operations on Miss Gelsthorpe took place at the Spire Parkway Hospital, in Solihull.

Miss Gelsthorpe, who works as a dog groomer, said: "My family have been really supportive.

"It's been hard to deal with, but they have been there for me. It's just a shame that it's taken so long for this to come to light."

Mr Paterson is alleged by a law firm representing some of his former patients to have performed up to 1,150 "unnecessary, inappropriate or unregulated" operations while working at various NHS and private hospitals.

It is further alleged that up to 450 women could have had invasive surgery when a biopsy might have been sufficient.

Kashmir Uppal, a senior medical negligence solicitor at Thompsons, said she believed patients had been subjected to needless worry and risk.

She said: "Hopefully, all who have had unnecessary or inappropriate treatment will seek reassurance or justice."

In a statement confirming the police inquiry into Mr Paterson, Detective Chief Inspector Matt Markham said: "West Midlands Police can confirm it has received a referral from the General Medical Council in relation to allegations about the medical practices of a surgeon who previously worked in Solihull.

"A criminal inquiry has been launched."

Mr Paterson has not been arrested but his registration with the General Medical Council was suspended following an Interim Orders Panel meeting on October 29.

A General Medical Council spokesman said: "This means the doctor cannot work as we investigate concerns about his fitness to practise."

In a statement issued on behalf of Mr Paterson, the Medical Defence Union (MDU) said he was co-operating fully with the GMC investigation.

A spokeswoman for the MDU said: "He cannot comment further due to his duty of patient confidentiality and the ongoing investigation."

HEROIC live-saving tales were heard at a ceremony to honour Notts firefighters last night.

Central Fire Station's Green Watch were among those praised after they saved a man hanging from a third-floor window in a Sneinton house fire.

He was barely conscious and the crew worked through torrential rain and thick black smoke to free him.

Firefighter Matthew Stafford, of Green Watch, said: "The whole crew is very proud to be recognised with a Chief Fire Officer's Certificate of Recognition. It was a difficult job in very difficult circumstances, in terms of the really bad weather and the nature of the rescue.

"We are all used to working as a team but at times like that, when it all really comes together and you're all supporting each other, it's particularly rewarding. We're just pleased we all got through it unharmed, including the gentleman we rescued."

Brothers Andy and Dave Turley, based at Carlton and Retford stations respectively, were also praised after coming across a car which had collided with the central reservation near Mansfield.

They managed to revive a woman who had fallen unconscious and was not breathing and supported her until she was taken to hospital by air ambulance.

And the ceremony heard how retained firefighter Dennis Rhule gave life support to a casualty after a collision on the A614 as well as stopping an elderly women from re-entering her house as it burned.

Mr Rhule said: "I really wasn't expecting to be recognised for what I did in this way, especially when there are so many others receiving awards tonight who have done exceptional things. To be one of them is a real privilege and an honour.

"I was acting on instinct in order to do what I could to help, and would do exactly the same thing in those circumstances again."

The ceremony, which was held at fire service headquarters in Arnold, also gave special commendations to local residents.

Phillip Taysum, of Worksop, was praised for helping rescue a man from a burning house after seeing smoke when he was walking his dog. And Michael Muzsla, site maintenance engineer from Ollerton, helped firefighters free an employee who had become trapped in a piece of machinery at his workplace.

Misterton Fire Station, near Doncaster, was given the Community Safety Award for turning an old portable building into a physical representation of the home safety check so visitors could identify potential hazards,

David Beardsall, of Retford, was given the Outstanding Public Service Award for serving 43 years as a retained firefighter.

Chief Fire Officer Frank Swann said: "Even though the role of a firefighter often demands our crews to put themselves into extremely challenging situations, it is important that we recognise when certain individuals have gone above and beyond that which is expected of them in order to ensure the safety and well-being of people in their local communities."

A TAXI driver ended up with an unexpected extra passenger when a woman gave birth in the back of his cab.

Rob Kadam, 50, who works for A2B Cars, was called to pick up a couple from a house in Hucknall on Friday afternoon.

The heavily-pregnant woman asked to be taken to City Hospital.

"She had been to the hospital earlier that day but they had sent her home and told her to come back when the pain returned," Mr Kadam, of Windmill Grove, Hucknall, said.

Within a few minutes in the car, Mr Kadam said, the woman started to scream out in pain.

"She seemed to be in absolute agony," he said.

Mr Kadam, a dad-of-two, rang an ambulance from his hands-free phone but was told it would take around 15 minutes to get to him.

"They told me to wait somewhere for them but I thought that was ludicrous.

"If something had gone wrong, it would have been a matter of life and death, not only for the mum but also for the baby."

He hung up the phone and drove to Nottingham City Hospital.

But then the father started shouting that the baby was coming out.

Mr Kadam said: "I tried to stay focused on the road and on getting them to the hospital but I also tried to calm the dad down and said, 'Don't worry, everything will be fine'."

"When we passed the Gala Bingo club, not far from the City Hospital, I heard the baby crying and I thought that was a good sign.

"We got to the hospital just two minutes after that and the staff there were brilliant, looking after them immediately."

Mr Kadam said the baby boy was fit and well and released from hospital with the mum the next day.

He said he had never experienced so much excitement.

"I will never forget that day," he said. "I've never been under so much pressure. It was an adrenalin rush. When I told my wife, Tina, she just couldn't believe it.

"If anything had gone wrong it would have been with me forever. But it all turned out fine – like a miracle."

NOTTS County captain Neal Bishop believes he has still got to prove he deserves a new deal at Meadow Lane.

The midfielder has been in great form for the Magpies this season – and has added a whole new dimension to his game.

He is not just a tough tackler now, he also scores goals.

Having netted four league goals in three years, the 31-year-old has already scored four in League One this term.

He is out of contract at Meadow Lane next summer and spoke to the Post about his future.

"My contract situation will take care of itself if I keep playing well," he said. "It's not something I worry about.

"I'm not the only one, there are quite a few of us out of contract next summer and we've all got to show that we deserve to be here.

"It's all right doing it for 16 or 17 games, but we've all got to do it over the whole season."

Bishop is one of only two players left from the Magpies' League Two title-winning team of 2010, with striker Lee Hughes, and he would love to agree a new deal and play in the Championship with the club.

"Every year I have been here the standards have increased and increased," he added.

"We have now got the best playing squad since I've been here and we've got the set-up behind the scenes to take this club forward."

Bishop scored as Notts beat Colchester 2-0 in midweek to climb up to fifth place.

They face fourth-placed Crawley Town at Meadow Lane tomorrow and, after four home league defeats already this season, Bishop knows they have got to get back on track.

"We're under no illusions our home form has got to improve drastically if we want to get out of this league and that is our aim this season," he added.

MEMBERS of Nottingham Forest's coaching staff will swap football boots for cycling shoes today in a charity bike ride.

Five members of Sean O'Driscoll's backroom team will cycle from the City Ground to Leicester's King Power Stadium today.

All the money raised will be added to the funds collected by Reds fan Rowan Staszkiewicz for Prostate Cancer UK and the Alzheimer's Society.

He is running to six of Forest's away games this season and has already completed one leg by jogging to Peterborough.

Now he plans to do the same for the game at Leicester tomorrow.

Coaches Paul Barron, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Ross Burbeary and Nathan Beardsley and physio Andy Hunt will be joined by chief executive Mark Arthur on the Nottingham-Leicester ride.

Manager O'Driscoll said: "I read about Rowan's challenge in the programme and thought it would be nice if we got involved.

"We discussed it at a staff meeting and Paul, who is a keen cyclist, came up with the idea of the staff riding to Leicester the day before our game against them instead of travelling on the team coach."

Rowan said: "I was delighted when Sean told me that the staff wanted to get involved. I'm still planning on running to Leicester on the Saturday but will ride the route with the coaches on the Friday as well."

To sponsor them, visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RowanSZ.

A COUPLE who sent kooky postcards back to their favourite Nottingham café during an extended summer holiday revisited the eatery yesterday to see their efforts in pride of place.

Lynn and Peter Adgar spent five weeks touring Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong and sent a personalised sausage-themed postcard back to the Silly Sausage Café, in Cattle Market Road, from each place.

The café's walls are covered in a variety of different pictures of sausages and it has now added the couple's efforts.

Lynn said: "The reason I started sending the cards was because we got to know the café fairly well through taking my grandson there after he goes swimming. While on holiday, I thought 'wouldn't it be fun if we sent a picture from each place that we go to?'"

The couple took a postcard from each holiday destination and painted a sausage character on the blank side, each dressed in the particular country's national dress.

The postcards also all include a message, for example a card from Australia, featuring a sausage wearing a hat with dangling corks and holding a can of beer, reads: "Plenty of shrimps on the barbie, but no sausage in sight."

Lynn said: "The café didn't know us that well but they have really embraced the idea – even the postman was getting excited delivering the cards."

UP TO 9,600 homes could be built in the borough of Rushcliffe before 2026 – with half of them on green-belt land.

The plans are revealed in the latest draft local plan drawn up by Rushcliffe Borough Council, which has to find room for new homes to meet government targets.

The plan requires an average of 640 homes each year for the next 14 years.

The green-belt areas outlined for development in the plan include land to the south of Clifton, where 2,500 homes are planned; 1,200 homes next to Sharphill Woods, in Edwalton; a minimum of 450 homes at Keyworth; a minimum of 400 at Radcliffe-on-Trent and at least 250 homes at Ruddington.

Sites at RAF Newton and the old Cotgrave Colliery are earmarked for 550 homes and 470 homes respectively.

The plan also outlines proposals for 1,000 homes north of Bingham and at least 400 at East Leake.

Edwalton resident John Quinton, 78, said there was still widespread opposition to plans to build near Sharphill Woods and said he was shocked by the proportion of green-belt land allocated for development in the local plan.

Mr Quinton, of Village Street, said: "I think building on green belt is a sin. What is the point of green belt if it is going to be ruined with houses?

"People in the village are still incandescent about the last Sharphill development proposals. When there are thousands of unoccupied houses going to rack and ruin in Notts, it seems ludicrous that there are plans to build on beauty spots.

"When Sharphill is built, Melton Road is going to be a nightmare and I predict bad congestion and a rise in accidents."

Residents share similar views in Cotgrave.

Frederick Hopper, 60, who lives off Rectory Road, said the feeling was one of united opposition to the plans for 470 homes on the colliery site.

He said: "I have lived here for 30 years and I am in a very good position to say that the town does not want to see building on the colliery site, part of which is green belt.

"Once it is done, it can never be undone and the country will be turned to concrete. What is more, I don't think there is a true need for these houses.

"The houses that exist already are not being used efficiently – some homes are occupied by one person and others sit empty.

"Cotgrave's infrastructure won't cope with hundreds more houses and we don't want to see it happen."

Bettina Lange, secretary of the Notts branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said the main objection the organisation had was towards the development near Clifton.

She said: "In general terms, we want to see as little building on green-belt land as possible.

"Building on countryside south of Clifton will create a sprawling urban area and put pressure on the transport network.

"What is more, Rushcliffe's aim of building 640 homes a year is unrealistic and I predict won't be achieved.

"Sharphill has had planning permission for several years and still hasn't been built on. It seems wrong to earmark green-belt land for development for the sake of earmarking land."

Rushcliffe Borough Council leader Neil Clarke admitted the local plan was "ambitious" but said it was a sustainable model. He said: "The Rushcliffe local plan is a crucial document that decides what gets built where over the next 13 years.

"Our plan will help ensure that there are sufficient houses and jobs in the borough to meet the needs of our growing population.

"We have allocated all our brown-field land and all that was left for us to look at was green belt.

"We need to develop this land in order for us to fulfil the requirements of the Planning Inspectorate."

PLANS to spend £80,000 of taxpayers' money on a £250 Christmas bonus for council workers have been given the go-ahead.

The move, ratified by Gedling Borough Council's cabinet members at a meeting yesterday, was opposed by 70 per cent of Post readers in a survey.

We revealed last week that the authority wanted to pay the bonus to workers on £21,500 a year or less and give all 550 members of staff an extra day off for New Year's Eve.

The Labour-controlled council said it was the right time to award the extra cash, following a three-year public sector pay freeze.

Since the story was published on the Post's website last Friday, readers had the chance to vote on the question "Should staff at Gedling Borough Council get a Christmas bonus?".

Out of 474 people, 70 per cent said no. However, the poll was criticised by councillors, including deputy leader Michael Payne, who said the question was misleading and our report was "sensationalist".

When asked after yesterday's meeting for a better alternative, Mr Payne said: "I think the question should have read 'Do you think the borough council was right to award the £250 one-off payment that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced in his budget to public sector organisations?'.

"The wording of the question was not obvious and most people who read the website will read it in a way that means 'all council staff', and not only lower-paid workers."

When Chancellor George Osborne announced the public sector pay freeze in 2010, he said council workers on low wages could still be given an extra £250 a year.

Chief executive of the council John Robinson told yesterday's meeting that the move was in line with the Government announcement and added: "This isn't something the council has dreamt up."

Darrel Pulk, portfolio holder for leisure and development on the council, welcomed the decision.

He said: "It is a one-off payment and won't have any long-term financial implications and I don't think £80,000 is a very large amount of money."

Council leader John Clarke said: "This is a difficult time, with end-of-the-year bills coming in. We want to alleviate a little bit of this for our lower-paid workers. This is a really good time to do it and a happy workforce is a good workforce."

The decision was welcomed by the Unison union and some residents, including John Pettitt, 68, of Hucknall, who said the cash was well deserved following the pay freeze.

However, dozens of readers contacted the Post saying they were outraged by the idea.

Linda Voce, 65, of Carlton, said: "I don't think the workers should get the payment. I don't get a bonus, my husband doesn't and none of my friends have for at least five years."

John Bowler, 75, of Lambley, said: "I've worked in local government for 26 years and I've never received a bonus."

Sylvia Leighton, of Clifton, described the decision as "wrong" and Beverley Pickering, 56, of Arnold, branded it "disgusting", adding: "It's not their money to give away."

Ronnie Brookes, of Ravenshead, also contacted the Post after reading Friday's story to say: "Gedling were the only council to put up their council tax last April. They have not done any extra work to warrant a bonus."

What do you think about the decision? Contact Winnie Agbonlahor on 0115 9051963 or Tweet her @WinniePonderosa

WES Morgan is crystal clear. Tomorrow, he will have no divided loyalties.

But, while he will be committed to ensuring his Leicester City side make it a bad day for Nottingham Forest, come the end of the season, he hopes to see both sides successful.

And, in an ideal world, he hopes both sides are in the Premier League next season.

"To have played for my hometown club and spent ten years there is fantastic," said Morgan, who was sold to the Foxes last January, after coming through the ranks at Forest.

"All my family and friends are Forest fans and sometimes I have to step back and think, 'wow', I did that. It is a great achievement.

"One of the big regrets is that I was never part of a Forest side that reached the Premier League. One of the things I wanted to do at Forest was get promoted to the Premier League.

" It didn't quite work out like that. But I wish them all the best and I am sure that one day they will actually make it."

Morgan is expecting a tough game tomorrow afternoon, as his former side and his current team go head-to-head at the King Power stadium.

And he revealed that his family will once more be along to support him tomorrow - even if they will be giving their backing to the Foxes on this occasion.

"Obviously, it is well known that this is a very important game," he said.

"The rivalry between the two clubs is there.

"From my point of view, I spent a long time at Forest and I have a lot of fond memories and good times there.

"I keep in contact with a lot of players who are there and it is a big game for us, and me.

"My family will be at the game. They are Forest fans. Since I have joined Leicester they have come to most of my games and support me.

"I am sure it will be strange for them but hopefully they are coming to support me first and then secondly Forest."

Morgan says he still owes Forest a debt of thanks for giving him his chance in football.

"The Forest academy is quite well known for producing good players and I am quite thankful to have come through an academy where the likes of Jermaine Jenas, Michael Dawson and Andy Reid came through," he said.

But Morgan may not be quite ready to pay back that debt tomorrow.

OPPOSITION to plans for a new Costa Coffee shop in Bingham is growing.

More than 1,400 people have signed a petition against the plan for Eton Place in little over a week since the coffee chain applied to Rushcliffe Borough Council for planning permission.

Petition organisers expect to receive even more signatures before the consultation deadline on November 29.

Bingham East borough councillor George Davidson said he was fully behind the protests.

He said: "I'm concerned about the growth of these large chains.

"There are some great independent retailers who will suffer."

He added: "I did want to see a new tenancy placed where the gap is in the precinct, but certainly not another multinational coffee chain."

Costa wants to open the new café, including outside seating, in Eton Place. Three full-time and five part-time jobs would be created.

Julia Williams, who runs the nearby Picture Café coffee house, started the petition.

She said: "I know a local fish and chip shop hoped to open a new restaurant in the space and there was also an offer for a new deli. I'd have much rather have seen those in place instead of a Costa Coffee. Inevitably, us smaller stores will suffer."

The building, most recently an Oddbins off-licence, has been empty for two years. It has retail planning consent but has never been used as a cafe.

Costa wants to change its use from A1 retail space to an A3 space, which allows for a café or restaurant.

Councillor Francis Purdue-Horan, who represents Bingham on Rushcliffe Borough Council, said: "We want to have a vibrant diverse town centre. I am personally not fussed if it's granted a local or national rental space but I want the right commercial activity in the town."

He added: "I don't want Bingham to be the Rushcliffe coffee capital."

The council says it is consulting on the plans until November 29, with a view to a decision being made in December.

A Costa Coffee spokesman previously told the Post: "We honestly do not think that anyone should see Costa as a threat to independent businesses.

"Our offering is very different to local independent coffee shops and we believe that people can and will use both, depending on their needs."