FURIOUS traders are taking their fight against a burger seller's right to park on their doorsteps to their MP.

The traders in Debden Broadway put pressure on the district council to revoke fast food vendor Russell Burns' licence in November.

But it was given the nod and they will take a petition carrying more than 40 signatures to Eleanor Laing MP tomorrow (Friday).

The landlord of the Winston Churchill pub in the Broadway, James Cosentino, 31, who has been campaigning against the van, said: “Our worries are that we all pay business rates and we're all struggling. I pay almost £2,500 a year.

“Someone has paid £300 for a licence and will be parked by my pub.”

Council officials had told him they may be able to revoke the licence for the van if it has damaged trade in the area after six months, but he said this could be too late for some businesses.

The manager of the nearby Wimpy fast food restaurant, Ergun Balta, 36, said: “He's been given permission to sell burgers 100 yards away from me.

“I'm making the same turnover as I was 10 years ago, but 10 years ago everything was half the cost it is now.

“If that van comes, I might as well close up.”

He said he hoped Mrs Laing would listen to the businessmen's worries and advise them on what else they could do.

The chairman of the Debden Broadway Town Centre Partnership, Dave Stannard, said he felt he should carry on fighting the van licence even though Mr Burns has not started trading yet.

“We feel we're not getting anywhere with the council and we feel that they have made the wrong decision,” he said. “They're saying they need reasonable grounds to revoke the licence.

“It's self-evident that if there's someone who sells burgers and they have a burger van outside their shop, it's going to be detrimental to trade.”