Thousands sign Scunthorpe pro-steel petitions

David Parish, from the GMB Union, and his daughter Maisie were among those collecting more signatures in Scunthorpe

Thousands of people have signed petitions calling on the government to step in to protect jobs at a steel plant in Scunthorpe.

Tata Steel announced on Tuesday it was shedding 900 jobs at its North Lincoln Road site.

The company has pledged £3m to help create jobs in the town while another £6m will be provided by the government.

However, unions say more needs to be done and earlier gathered in the town to collect more signatures.

Steel worker Tony Gosling said: "We're asking people to sign our petition and continue to give us their warmth and love that they have given us so far in our plight.

"There's an online petition which has collected over 6,000 signatures, there's a national petition which has collected over 16,000 and on paper we estimate we've collected nearly 5,000."

Labour MP for Scunthorpe Nick Dakin said support for the steelworkers was vital.

He said: "It's really important because it shows that people care about what's happening and that helps me put real pressure on the prime minister to act."