“THEY will have to carry us out!”

That is the defiant message from a Darlington trader who has praised the “fantastic” public support following the announcement that the town's covered market faces closure.

Robin Blair, whose grocery business has been operating in the town for 150-years, said he has been overwhelmed by the goodwill of both residents and visitors to the market who have pledged their support.

The ageing market building needs £4m spending on repairs and Darlington Borough Council has given the traders a three-month window to put forward a viable proposal to take it off the authority’s hands as part of its savage budget cuts.

If a satisfactory agreement cannot be reached then the landmark building would be offered to private investors, leaving its future uncertain.

However, Mr Blair is confident that the venue can be saved and said that there is “a fighting spirit” among market traders determined to save their livelihoods.

“I don’t know whether they (the council) would reverse their decision,” said Mr Blair.

"And the first time we went in the meeting we came out shell-shocked, but really, the £4m is for repair work and we are not falling to bits.

“The roof needs fixing and there is half a million pounds in an account to go towards that.

“If you think about it, the £4m isn’t going into an austerity fund, we are not losing money, we are profit making – very small but still a profit and I think we can improve things and streamline things and turn it around even more.”

Hundreds have people have already signed a petition to save the market and Mr Blair said that traders had been enthused by the passion shown by the Darlington people in support of the facility.

He added: "I don't think they can shut us down, the people of Darlington won't have it!"