People are being forced to pay £3 to park at the reservoir's car parks after Anglian Water scrapped the £1 short stay fee.

The move has prompted a barrage of letters from incensed Mercury readers and businesses fear the damage it could cause.

----------
Add your support to our campaign: click here
----------

Now the Mercury is urging Anglian Water to reinstate the £1 charge for an hour's parking to allow local people to enjoy the reservoir.

We want you to show your support by signing the coupon on this page or online at www.stamfordmercury.co.uk

In a statement to the Mercury two weeks ago, when we first reported on the anger the parking changes had sparked, a spokesman for Anglian Water defended the decision, and said the company would stick by it.

"This is something we have made our mind up about and there is no going back, no matter what protests there may be," he said.

But, the Mercury believes the axing of the short-stay charge is hitting local people and local businesses – and Anglian Water, to whom we pay water rates, should reconsider.

Tim Harris, manager of Rutland Cycles at Whitwell, said: "The incentive has gone for people, primarily locals, to walk the dog or have a cup of tea – £3 for a half-hour visit is extremely expensive and they won't pay that."

Businesses have asked Anglian Water to reinstate the £1 rate and raise the all-day fee to £3.50 in summer.

Mr Harris said: "We don't think they listen to us. People who are working here are telling them visitor numbers have been affected but they have just blamed the weather."

Pensioners Gil and Maggie Marren, from Thorne, South Yorkshire, are dog-sitting in Manton and were at Rutland Water yesterday.

Mr Marren said: "If we were just visiting for a walk by the lake, we wouldn't pay £3 to park the car. It's just too expensive."

Some visitors already park on roadside verges around Rutland Water rather than pay and people are pressing for extra patrols or more yellow lines to reinforce safety in the area.

"This is happening a lot," said Mark Latham, owner of The Noel at Whitwell. "It's very dangerous when it gets crowded because there are dozens of kids running around."

Adrian Chappell, who runs catering kiosks in the car parks, said: "We are witnessing people turning away from the car park.

"The whole tenant base is up in arms. We are fighting this issue day by day at the highest level."

Dan Baker, media manager for Anglian Water, said: "We have to maintain our recreation sites using money generated by the sites. The funding for this cannot come from water bills.

"As maintenance costs have, inevitably, gone up, so must the amount of money the sites generate.

"All the money raised through parking goes back into running these enormously popular sites."

Mr Baker recommended buying a season ticket for £30 per year.