MEMBERS of Selborne's Traffic Action Group (STAG) collected more than 400 signatures at the launch, over bank holiday weekend, of a petition to "Save Selborne" from the scourge of escalating traffic problems.

Visitors "from Cornwall to Cumbria", and from as far as Bulgaria and Latvia, joined local residents in putting their names to a demand for action to redirect through traffic away from the village.

The plea is heartfelt and to the point: "The most celebrated village and landscape inheritance in England is being destroyed as a direct result of present planning and traffic policies.

"More and more traffic is being diverted along the B3006 and through the heart of Selborne village - shattering the community and resulting in an increase of injuries and death.

"We, the villagers and friends of Selborne from all over the world, demand that you take action and redirect through traffic to use the network of A-class roads more suited for the purpose and implement effective calming measures for the village itself".

The petition is ongoing until STAG is ready to make more detailed proposals about how it thinks these demands should be implemented, according to action group chairman Bob Thompstone.

It will be sent to Selborne Parish Council, East Hampshire District Council, Hampshire County Council and the Department of Transport.