A 4,000-NAME petition has backed an SOS call to stop Sainsburys pulling out of Prestwich.

MP Ivan Lewis, who launched the Save Our Sainsburys (SOS) campaign last week, said that the response showed community spirit was "alive and kicking" in the town.

Mr Lewis handed over the hefty dossier to store bosses in London on Monday (March 12) during high-level talks to try to convince them to reverse their decision to close the branch in the Longfield Centre.

He has now invited the chief executive of Sainsburys, Sir Peter Davis, to visit Prestwich and hear the strength of local opinion that has been expressed over the shock news.

"I have been overwhelmed by the level of support for our SOS campaign," said Mr Lewis.

"I am very proud of the community spirit which has been demonstrated by thousands of local people."

The politician said that the petition strengthened his argument to save the store and added that residents could still register their views until the final petition was handed to Sir Peter during his visit.

He added: "I expect the chief executive to accept my invitation and attend an urgent meeting in Prestwich where we can present our final petition and make our case in a passionate but responsible way." Mr Lewis said that during the meeting, held at the House of Commons and attended by Sainsburys representatives Roger Saoul, head of public affairs, and property affairs boss Jane Blower, he made it very clear that the community was "extremely disappointed" at the way the company had treated its loyal workforce and customers.

And he urged them to enter talks with the local authority, business forum and other interested parties to consider ways that the current store could be improved.

But Mr Lewis added: "They were unable to give any assurances at this stage that the closure decision will be reversed."

He said that the company accepted a responsibility to the local community in any future decision they made about the sale of the site and confirmed that the idea for a hostel for asylum seekers was a "non-starter".

Suggestions that the post office, currently situated in Kingswood Road, could be interested in moving to the Sainsburys site have been denied.

A spokesman for Post Office Counters stated: "We have no plans to move the post office at the moment."