A petition calling for local pharmacies to be protected has been handed to the Government.

More than 2,000 people signed the petition, which was handed over to the Department of Trade and Industry by Lewes MP Norman Baker.

The petition, organised by pharmacies in the Lewes area, calls for the rejection of a plan to lift restrictions on who can dispense NHS prescriptions.

It is feared the restrictions would pave the way for large supermarket chains and out-of-town stores to take on the job, forcing smaller pharmacies out of business.

Mr Baker said: "People recognise pharmacies play a vital and much-needed part in providing community healthcare, dispensing not just medicine but also medical advice.

"The elderly and infirm will be short-changed if supermarket pharmacies replace local chemists because they are often difficult to get to without access to a car."

Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt is expected to make a decision about the proposal this summer.