CAMPAIGNERS fighting plans for a wind farm say they were overwhelmed by the public support shown during a street protest.

Darwen Moors Wind Farm Opposition Group say they collected 1,200 signatures in the space of just a few hours when six members gathered in Darwen town centre.

And the group said they could have collected more on the petition if only they had not run out of paper.

About 1,000 leaflets were also distributed.

Now the petition is to be sent to Blackburn with Darwen Council and may be presented to Parliament in the future.

The group is fighting plans by PowerGen, which wants to erect a dozen 200-foot wind turbines on Darwen Moor.

One of the campaigners, Mark France, said: "We were overwhelmed by the public support.

"We were really just testing the water by asking for signatures and never dreamed so many people were against the scheme.

"People were queuing up to sign and we also had many asking to join our group.

"The people of Darwen are not going to allow its greatest natural asset to be exploited."

PowerGen argues that the Government is committed to renewable forms of energy and says the Darwen project would generate enough electricity to supply 11,500 homes.

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