A PHARMACY group is urging customers to sign petitions against recommendations by the competitions watchdog to relax legislation on chemists.

A report by the Office of Fair Trading for the Department of Trade and Industry has called for regulations to be removed on where drug-dispensing pharmacies can open, allowing more retailers to sell medicine.

Supermarkets and some large chemist chains are likely to benefit most from the change and have welcomed the decision.

But the Co-operative group, which operates 500 chemist branches in the country, say the removal of entry regulations will mean a decline in the quality of services and will threaten the future of local pharmacies.

The group is urging customers to sign a national petition against the report recommendations in Co-op pharmacies in Langley Park, Seaham or Sunderland, which they will send to MPs.

John Nuttall, general manager of United Co-op pharmacies, said: "Community pharmacies can make a measurable improvement to patients' health and well-being. The removal of the entry regulations will result in a reduction in the number of community pharmacies.

"Co-operative pharmacies currently provide NHS prescription services, sales of medicines and general health advice to many of society's most vulnerable groups, including the elderly and young mothers, in convenient and accessible locations throughout the UK."

If the Government accepts the proposal, qualified pharmacists will be able to set up shop wherever they wish.