Goodyear closure: Beverley Knight backs fight to save Wolverhampton icon
Beverley Knight says she is sick of seeing jobs being lost in her hometown of Wolverhampton as she pledged her support for the campaign to save the city's Goodyear tyre factory.
The soul singer turned actress has signed a petition against the closure of the Bushbury Lane plant, which will see 330 jobs go when it closes in 2017.
And Beverley, who is originally from Penn Fields, also took to Twitter to express her astonishment at Goodyear bosses offering jobs to laid off staff at a new plant more than 5,000 miles away in Mexico.
The online petition, which was set up by factory staff, has attracted more than 860 signatures, while a Save Goodyear Wolverhampton Facebook page has been set up to support workers.
After announcing that she had signed the petition, Beverley tweeted: "I just hope it can do some good. Sick of seeing the loss of jobs in Wolves/Black Country."
Campaigner Sharon Devaney, 49, whose husband Wayne has worked at the factory for more than 27 years, said: "It was very pleasing to get a tweet back from Beverley and seeing her support.
"It's nice to know that people remember their roots. I think it is easy to go away and forget where you came from when you get famous so it is nice to know Beverley still cares about the city and the people."
Wednesfield councillor Phil Bateman also expressed his delight on the social media site over Beverley's support.
He tweeted to both the singer and Mrs Devaney: "Great gesture and completely in character. Bev is always looking to help Wolverhampton."
Beverley, who is originally from Penn Fields, responded to the councillor by tweeting "I'm trying. Xxxxxx"
Last week the Express & Star revealed that a notice was on display in the Bushbury Lane factory offering workers the chance to apply for positions in the firm's new plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Under the heading: 'An exciting opportunity for your career', it advertises for positions in the human resources, production and quality departments at the Mexican plant, which is set to open at the same time the Wolverhampton site closes.
The move was branded a 'kick in the teeth' by staff and 'crazy' by union bosses. Beverley tweeted: "Cannot BELIEVE that Mexico offer xxxxx"
Chancellor George Osborne has said the Government would do everything it could to help staff at the factory. Prime Minister David Cameron said he too is open to talks about the future of the site.
Unite is holding a series of meetings with Goodyear bosses in the hope of changing their minds. The petition to save the Goodyear plant can be found at change.org
