A petition attempting to prevent fast good giants KFC and McDonalds from opening in Ely Leisure Centre has amassed 1,730 signatures.

The campaign, spearheaded by Littleport student Will Law, asks for signatures to ‘show your support for schoolchildren being free from the influence of fast-food giants on their doorsteps’ ahead of the restaurants being opened next year.

The site that would house the fast food outlets is only 400 metres away from Ely College and several other schools - a decision Mr Law thinks is “completely irresponsible.”

Speaking in a recent interview with Cambridge News, he said: “We need to be educating our children on how to eat heathily.”

Law has now turned his attention towards the developers of the site - Turnstone Estates - after Cambridgeshire County Council’s announcement that they were to press on with the development and that the choice of companies that fill the spaces in the leisure centre is “completely in the hands of the developer.”

Law’s campaign, which began in October, has been backed by MP Lucy Frazer and leader of the Green Party, Natalie Bennett, as well as celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.