Brighton and Hove Albion has asked fans to call off a boycott of Asda superstores.

The company objected to plans by the football club to start a park-and-ride scheme near the Hollingbury store in Brighton and had set up a petition for customers to sign.

Asda agreed to remove the petition yesterday and Albion supporters' group North Stand Chat (NSC) has published a statement on its web site asking fans to back down on the protest.

It said: "Following action taken by members of North Stand Chat and other Albion supporters, Richard Hebberd, Albion's safety adviser, has met with the new manager at Brighton Asda.

"The petition to the council has been pulled and will not be part of any submission Asda may make to the council.

"Any submission they might make will be based purely on technical grounds.

"Meetings have been arranged for next week between the transport consultants, Richard and the store manager to overcome any technical concerns Asda may have. The club would like to ask supporters to suspend any proposed actions against Asda.

"The actions taken by NSC have directly led to the opening of negotiations between both parties and the withdrawal of the petition. The club is extremely grateful to NSC and its users."