A FOUR-year-old girl has made an impassioned plea to save her local library at a full council meeting.

Little Iman Mubeen, aged four and three-quarters, from Hartburn in Stockton, was devastated when she found out Stockton Council was considering plans to close nearby Fairfield Library.

Campaigners gathered more than 3,000 signatures on a petition to the council to ask it to debate the matter in a full council meeting, and the petition was presented at Stockton town hall on Wednesday.

Iman’s mother Sarah took her along to speak at the meeting – but faced with so many serious adults, her nerves got the better of her.

Library campaigner Enid Jennings read the statement on her behalf, which said: “Dear Grown-Ups, I go to my local library on my bike to choose my books every two weeks.

“The lovely librarian even lets me click my books with the date on. Please save Fairfield Library. Thank you.”

Ms Mubeen said Iman had been on a school trip to the library with her school, Holy Trinity Rosehill in Stockton, several months ago.

The children were all given their own cards and Iman, who is just learning to read and write, now goes every fortnight without fail to choose her favourite books.

Ms Mubeen said: “They have even been talking about it in the school playground because they were upset about the library closing.”

Mrs Jennings told councillors that Fairfield Library had been open for more than 50 years and lay at the centre of a heavily-populated area, close to six schools. She said it issued more books per hour than Stockton Central Library and was the second busiest library in the whole of Stockton borough.

She said: “It needs to remain open because it is a vital and necessary asset to our community. Its closure would affect all age ranges and the whole community. Closing this library is a short term decision with long term consequences.

“The decision you will make is vitally important to a large section of the population which you represent. More than 3,000 residents have made their feelings known. I implore you, please do not let us down.”

Councillor Norma Wilburn, the council’s cabinet member for culture and leisure, agreed to postpone the decision on the library’s future by a month until October.

But she said significant savings needed to be found – and said she welcomed positive proposals and suggestions for alternatives as part of the consultation process.

The council had miscalculated some figures and the library did not cost as much to run as previously believed – but £16,000 still needed to be found each year to keep the library going.