SHOPPERS have been thanked for their support for a growing campaign for a second bridge between Barnton and Winnington.

Young and old added their names on Saturday to a petition calling for an additional bridge over the River Weaver.

The campaign for a second bridge is being led by Barnton Parish Council, which launched a petition to force a discussion on the issue at Cheshire West and Chester Council.

By Saturday the petition had attracted more than 3,300 signatures, the number needed to trigger a discussion, but Bridge2Barnton campaigners are eager to attract as many names as possible before the September 4 deadline.

Barnton parish councillors were in Northwich town centre on Saturday, and over five hours attracted 500 names for the petition.

The names were collected by councillors Judith Phoenix, Sheena Beech and Keith Reading and former councillor Carol Ashdown.

“We would like to thank everyone who signed the petition,” said Cllr Phoenix.

“We didn’t have to do a lot of explaining to people about the second bridge, and a lot of people were complaining about the traffic situation between Winnington and Barnton, and Northwich in general.

“We had a wide range of people signing, from teenagers to pensioners, and the event brought it to the attention of people that we are still fighting for the bridge.

“Some people had come into town specifically to sign the petition after seeing the article in the Guardian, and most people were happy to sign once they realised what it was all about.

“People have had to make the effort to go into shops to sign the petition, and it was important that we took the petition to them rather than just expecting them to come to us.”

The petition has been signed online at Cheshire West and Chester Council’s website, and on paper at businesses in Barnton, Winnington and neighbouring communities.

The online petition has been signed by 1,363 people, and calls for costed proposals for a solution to the problems with the Winnington swing bridge and increasing traffic problems experienced by residents, commuters and businesses in Barnton and surrounding communities.