A CAMPAIGN to re-open St James's Street Library is underway.

Residents have collected more than 1,200 signatures in a petition plus 120 from children in response to the council's decision to close the library as part of its budget cuts this year.

"The library has served the residents faithfully for over 20 years with good service, " said Dr Peter Lia Liang Tan, a local doctor who is leading the campaign.

"It is in an excellent location for many primary schools and there are many elderly people living in Coppermill Lane and the nearby areas. St James's Street Library is within walking distance, compared to Central Library which is a long way down."

Dr Tan said many users were angry that they were not told of the library's closure, often only realising when they get to the doors laden down with books.

Campaigners are also angry that children from five primary schools in the area may miss out because the journey to the library is now too far and less safe as it goes through the busy market.

Closing the library will save £70,000 this financial year, and the equivalent of two and a half full-time jobs have been lost.

But when making the decision, officers advised councillors that closing the library would have "minimal effect on visitor numbers or active borrowers" and that it had both low visitor numbers and book issues.

The council has also set itself a minimum requirement for all residents to be no further than a mile away from a library.

Lea Bridge, Walthamstow and Higham Hill Library all fit within a mile radius.