Thousands of West Cumbrians have come together to fight against the closure of their local court.

The Workington magistrates and county court is among 91 across England and Wales earmarked for closure by the Government because they are said to be under-used.

If the closure goes ahead, it means that people including witnesses and victims would have to travel either to Carlisle or Barrow for court appearances.

Consultation into the closure is due to end on Thursday.

The campaign, launched by the Times & Star and Workington MP Sue Hayman, has gathered thousands of signatures thanks to an online petition and three days of action held in Workington, Maryport and Cockermouth over the past weeks.

Mrs Hayman met on Wednesday with Ian Frost, Allerdale council's chief executive, Richard Rhodes, police and crime commissioner and representatives of local authorities to draft their official response.

Mrs Hayman, who will also send her own separate response to the Ministry of Justice, said: "It's not unusual for me to stand on the street, but what was unusual with this campaign was that people were coming up to us to ask for information and sign the petition and if I stopped someone and said it was about the court, they would listen.

"People are genuinely worried about the effect that the court closure could have on them and access to justice.

"I'll be very disappointed if we aren't successful, but I do know that it's very difficult to change the government's mind. I know we have done everything we could and the response from the local people, the magistrates, those from the legal sector, has been amazing."

Mrs Hayman said that the areas of concern include the time and cost of travelling to Carlisle to attend hearings.

She added: "We must not forget that Workington also has a county court and we don't have one at Carlisle. The proposal document is a poor document and they haven't done their research properly.

"If they have to build a county court or convert an existing building, that's not cost-effective.

"They suggested technological solutions as teleconferences, but Mr Rhodes has confirmed to me that they cannot deliver that. We simply don't have the capacity and facilities."

So far, the online petition has been signed by more than 700 people, 622 people signed it at the Cockermouth day of action last Saturday and almost 900 were gathered at events in Workington and Maryport.

Barbara Cannon, Allerdale councillor and campaigner, said: "We've handed out hundreds of petitions which we'll be collecting soon, so we don't have a definite figure, but we know that the response from local people has brought a fabulous result."

To sign the petition, click here