WORRIED Darweners have signed a petition in a bid to save the jobs of local pharmacists.

More than 300 people signed a petition to back staff at Darwen Health Centre's pharmacy who are appealing against a decision not to transfer them to the new health centre when it opens in 2005.

Andrew Gordon, of Brighton Terrace, regularly uses the facility and when he heard that another pharmacy had been chosen to move into the new health centre he decided to start the petition.

And staff at the pharmacy, which have been part of the health centre since it opened in 1977, say they need all the support they can get as all eight face losing their jobs without others to go to.

Manager Jean Price said: "The girls have put in a lot of hard work over the years and it is a horrible time and everyone is scared for their jobs.

"They all have commitments and we enjoy our jobs. You know the customers well after seeing them every day and the smiles we wear are not fake."

Mr Gordon stood in Darwen town centre on four days collecting signatures and has handed them to the pharmacists to be sent off to the appeal in Harrogate, which is expected to go ahead in the next few weeks.

He said: "Whoever is in charge of the new health centre seems to have looked for the best offer for the new pharmacy so I decided to get a petition together to save the old health centre pharmacy and the jobs of the workers there.

"They were quite pleased when they realised there was public support for them.

"I don't understand where the loyalty has gone. You would think that the people at the current pharmacy who are doing a very good job serving the people of Darwen would automatically move to the new centre in the same way the nurses and doctors are.

The appeal will come before the Family Health Services Appeals Authority (FHSSA) which aims to improve the provision of healthcare by ensuring a prompt, fair and reasoned resolution to disputes within the NHS.

Mrs Price added: "We are hopeful that the decision can be reversed but we will just have to wait and see. The public can't help once a date is given it's up to the appeal."