A team of dental nurses has started a petition over an increase in a fee they must pay in order to work.

The nurses at Thornton Dental Care Centre in Market Street are so incensed at the above-inflation rise, they have written to colleagues across the district urging them to sign the petition, which will be sent to the General Dental Council, the UK’s dental regulator.

They have also contacted local councillors and MPs to gather support for the campaign, which they hope will result in the GDC rethinking its increases.

The fee, known as the annual retention fee, is paid to the GDC, every year by dental professionals.

The dental nurses had been paying £96 a year, but this will increase to £120 from July.

Part-time dental nurse Frances Soames, of Thornton Dental Care Centre, said: “We think this is ridiculous. We are a low-paid profession and it is a lot of money just to be able to work.”

The team of six, part-time staff also strongly disagree that there is no difference in the amount paid by full-time and part-time workers.

Mrs Soames said: “We have had a good response and we hope our action spreads across the country.”

A spokesman for the GDC said: “The GDC recognises that its decision in September last year to increase its fee for registrants will have a significant impact on them.

“The decision was not taken lightly. The fee makes up nearly our entire funding and the cost of regulation is going up.

All signed petitions should be returned to Thornton Dental Care Centre in Market Street, Thornton, by Friday, February 25.