Placard-carrying youngsters left Bradford's Asda supermarket managers in no doubt of their feelings when they handed in letters demanding the store stay open.

Each child wrote in following the public inquiry over the proposed new Asda in Rooley Lane which would replace their nearby supermarket in Knowles Lane.

As the Government considers the implications of closing down the store, pupils at St Columba's RC Primary School, in Tong Street, put pen (and pencil) to paper. The class of eight and nine-year-olds wrote the letters as part of a geography and literacy project concentrating on the local area.

All of them want the Knowles Lane Asda to stay open and said Rooley Lane would be too far away for Holmewood residents, particularly elderly people and car-less families with young children.

One wrote that it would be a "disaster and a pain in the neck" if the store was to close.

Student teacher Claire Dodd-ing, who supervised much of the project, said: "They all go to Asda and they all like it because it's got the Bradford Bulls shop and the caf."

She added that many of their parents were upset about its proposed closure.

General store manager Simon Cowley said: "We are impressed by the fact that class 4C have taken such an active interest in the future of their Asda store and see this as an endorsement of the service that we currently provide to customers."

He added: "We understand that the children are concerned that Holmewood residents would not be able to walk to the new store. However, we will be providing a free half-hourly bus service between Holmewood and the new store to ensure that our customers will be able to use the new Asda which will offer a better range of goods than the existing store."

He said most of the store's custom come from other areas and they would be more able to walk to the supermarket if it is moved to the proposed Rooley Lane site.

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