A petition signed by more than 500 people calling for the reinstatement of Ipplepen Library has been handed in to County Hall.

The library's closure was announced in December 2006 after claims its roof was unsafe and would collapse under six inches of snow.

Locals disputed the claims, the then county councillor Phil Cook saying the last time it snowed that much was in 1963 and was unlikely to happen again, given global warming.

His political opponent but fellow anti-closure campaigner, Cllr Vic Elliott, who had offered to house the library in a portable building on his land, summed up his feelings about the county council's decision in one word.

'Bastards,' he said.

Now the village has a mobile library service and concerns are growing it might become a permanent feature.

Alistair Dewhirst, the Lib Dem who unsuccessfully fought the Teignbridge South seat in the June elections, has handed in the petition to the county council's cabinet.

It has called for the reinstatement of a permanent library in the village when a new community centre is built.

It was accepted by the leader, Cllr John Hart, who said: 'It will be passed to the appropriate department and they will be responding.'

Teignbridge MP Richard Younger-Ross has thrown his weight behind the villagers' campaign.

He said the library's loss was having a 'huge impact' on many people, including those who had difficulty travelling to Newton Abbot.