Doctors have started a petition in a battle over chemists shops in Heaton.

A campaign was started by staff at Leylands Lane Medical Centre, who are desperate for their own pharmacy on site.

The move comes after a rival campaign by villagers in Heaton who fought against a chemist moving to the centre last month.

The villagers feared that a new pharmacy would drive business away from Heaton Pharmacy in Highgate, half a mile away.

Now Bradford Health Authority has granted a licence for a company to open a new pharmacy on the site and the residents are planning a second appeal.

Doctors at the medical centre say that trade at other chemists in the area will not be affected and their patients have a right to get their prescriptions on site.

Dr Brian Karet, of Leylands Lane Medical Centre, said: "It is a total red herring. The village pharmacy currently dispenses 20 per cent of the prescriptions from our practice, so it's never going to affect them to the extent that they are forced to close.

"Our patients have the right to be able to get their prescriptions on site instead of having to walk half a mile into Heaton village.

"Our own petition shows there is a lot of support for the idea of a pharmacy here and I think that both businesses can happily survive in the area."

Pam Fisher, who has organised the Heaton Village Campaign, said they intended to appeal against the new licence. "Just when everyone thought it was all over, we've suddenly got a new fight on our hands," she said. A thousand leaflets have been posted around the village.

Bradford Health Authority said it wanted to see pharmacies located as close as possible to large medical centres.

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