A PETITION with more than 87,000 signatures opposing fracking in Wiltshire will be submitted to the county council next week.

Campaigners are asking the local authority for a delay on any form of oil or gas extraction in Wiltshire until a local environmental assessment is carried out.

Four areas in Wiltshire, including Warminster, Trowbridge, Westbury, Chitterne and Erlstoke, were granted licences meaning companies will have the sole right to drill in the area if they are granted permission.

The controversial process, which involves drilling into the earth, would be the first within Wiltshire.

Iona Hassan, petition co-ordinator, said: “We are asking Wiltshire Council to place a moratorium on all unconventional oil and gas activity until a complete assessment of the environmental impacts has been undertaken and the findings have been reported and analysed fully.

“Many countries across Europe, and the world, have halted hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and coal bed methane (CBM) extraction due to concerns over public health and risks to the environment.

“Many people in Wiltshire are only now becoming aware of the threat of unconventional gas extraction here.

“There are a growing number of people raising awareness and asking people to inform themselves before planning applications for exploratory wells go in.

“The petition has seen supported from across the UK (over 25,000 signatures), many from areas facing the same challenges as the people of Wiltshire, and also from people across the globe including New York where residents have seen the impacts of fracking at close hand in Pennysylvania.”

The petition will be submitted to Wiltshire Council on Tuesday.