A THIEF stole hundreds of names from a petition opposing a bus lane on a main road.

Campaigners lost their battle yesterday when the lane along Newtown Road, Worcester, was approved as part of plans for an office development on the old Ronkswood Hospital site.

But opponents of the scheme, who believe the 200-yard bus lane will add to traffic problems, fear their protest to the city council might have been undermined by the theft.

Jon Baddeley, aged 68, one of the organisers of the opposition, learnt last week that someone had stolen four sheets of names from the counter of Lichfield Road post office, where the petition had been left for people to sign.

He said: "I'm very, very disappointed someone would take it, I just can't see the sense."

"The councillors didn't listen to 316 people, but we could have had about 500 names, and perhaps they would have listened to them."

City planning manager Peter Yates told councillors that in the worst case scenario two poplar trees would be lost in the widening of Newtown Road. Councillors were pleased the majority of the poplars and an area of grass off Ripon Road had been saved. Fears about their loss had delayed the scheme.

But Coun Mike Layland, whose ward includes the road, told the planning committee it was spending money on something that would not work.

"All we are doing is adding more misery to the residents in this area and ignoring the views of local people," he said.

However, Coun Paul Denham said: "We are all worried about road congestion, but that will only get worse and worse unless something is done to solve it."

After councillors backed the scheme by nine votes to three, Mr Baddeley, of Ripon Road, said: "I honestly thought they would have some common sense about it all.

"You've got ambulances using that road which leads to a major hospital and they are going to get stuck in congestion. It's going to be chaos."