SUPPORT is flooding in for The Gazette and Basingstoke Extra campaign to rebuild Beech Down Primary School.

As part of our campaign - launched in The Gazette on Monday - petitions are going around the Brighton Hill area to gather support for the effort to persuade Hampshire education chief Don Allen to change his decision to shut the arson-hit school in 2004.

The Gazette's campaign is calling for the Brighton Hill school to be rebuilt at the same site in Gershwin Road but on a smaller scale - an option that has the backing of many parents and councillors.

To help in the fight to rebuild Beech Down, petitions are available for signing at The Gazette offices in Pelton Road and in Church Street, and will be in local shops in the Brighton Hill area by the weekend.

A petition can also be found on The Gazette's website - www.thisis hampshire.net - where visitors can download a copy to pass around before sending it back to us.

Jackie McGuire, of Quilter Road, who has a seven-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter at the school, was one of the first to pledge her support by signing the petition.

Tomorrow, the school governors of Beech Down will meet to discuss whether they intend to appeal against the county's decision.

Glenda Norris, chairwoman of governors, said: "Because of our involvement so far and the approach we've taken, it would be extremely unlikely if we didn't appeal."

DOWNLOAD YOUR OWN PETITION FORM USING THE LINK ABOVE, FILL IT IN AND SEND IT INTO THE GAZETTE