A petition of more than 5,000 signatures has been handed to the House of Commons in the culmination of a campaign by the Sutton Coldfield Observer to save a local magistrates court from closure.

The West Midlands weekly paper began its Keep Justice Local campaign under the headline "It's not over yet" following the decision by the local Magistrates Courts Committee to close Sutton Magistrates Court.

As part of that campaign the paper printed an officially-worded petition in each issue and urged readers to complete it and then return it to the newspaper's offices.

Now Sutton MP Andrew Mitchell has presented the petition, with a total of 5,246 signatures, to the House of Commons to be considered along with evidence gathered as part of the appeal process.

The MP said: "The signatures on the petition were collected extremely rapidly, and I pay tribute in particular to the Sutton Coldfield Observer.

"I congratulate it on the staunch stand that it has taken on the defence of this most important local interest."

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