More than 3,000 people have given their backing to the campaign to save Workington Magistrates Court from closure.

Campaigners took the streets of Workington on Saturday to drum up support and members of the public have signed a petition and a letter in a bid to save the court.

The campaign by Workington MP Sue Hayman is backed by the Times & Star and Labour councillor Barbara Cannon.

The petition will be sent to the Secretary of State Michael Gove and has attracted 2,000 signatures.

Meanwhile the separate letter has had 1,000 more people to sign it and will be presented to the Ministry of Justice ahead of its consultation on court closures.

Councillor Cannon said: "It was very successful and we did not have any difficulty at all persuading people to sign the letter. The moment we said 'can you help?' people would sign the letter.

"There was quite a lot of sympathy towards the idea of doing something positive. One organisation took leaflets after we'd finished and another young man took leaflets to his church."

Mrs Hayman visited the court last week and spoke to staff who highlighted their concerns including the distance that defendants and victims would need to travel to get to places such as Carlisle.

The petition and letter were mainly signed by Workington residents, but people from Aspatria, Wigton, Keswick and Darlington also put pen to paper.

Workington Magistrates Court is one of 91 buildings in England and Wales that have been earmarked for closure and the consultation ends on Thursday, October 8.

Coun Cannon added: "We're going to try and carry on and get more signatures. We're talking about taking the roadshow to Maryport and I was asked if it was possible to do something in Whitehaven.

"There were a small number of people who said whatever we do they will still close it. People don't know where West Cumbria is and how far we have to travel."

Sign the petition here