Protest taken to driving test HQ

Protesters from Kidderminster today took a petition to the Driving Standards Agency headquarters in a bid to retain a test centre in the town.

The DSA wants to close the Castle Street centre and transfer tests to Lower Gornal which is 13 miles away.

Campaigners, including driving instructors and local councillors, claim the move would disadvantage learner drivers from the Wyre Forest area who would face greater costs and have to travel further to get to know the Dudley area where tests would be carried out.

Today they took their fight to the very doors of the DSA and were preparing to hand over a petition bearing more than 1,200 signatures to chief executive Rosemary Thew.

Long-term campaigner Glyn Ellis-Jones said he had grown "increasingly frustrated by the DSA stance".

Councillor Julian Phillips, a member of Wyre Forest District Council, said he felt it was "important to meet with DSA officials and show the strength of feeling in Kidderminster against the proposed closure".