PEOPLE are being encouraged to sign a petition in Dover town centre today against the Home Office plans to site an open prison at the former Connaught Barracks site on the outskirts of the town.

Last night, more than 100 people attended a public meeting at the nearby Burgoyne Heights where residents are particularly concerned about the proposal to accommodate up to 500 prisoners there.

MP Gwyn Prosser told the meeting that townsfolk needed to use every protest method to oppose the plan.

He said the Home Office still had other sites under consideration, and officials had told Dover District Council that the first group would be housed at the barracks site by the end of October.

Mr Prosser is due to meet Home Office officials on Monday, and more talks with local representatives are expected to take place next week.

District Council leader Cllr Paul Watkins said other uses for the site had been under discussion, and that it would have been perfect for South Kent College which needed more space.

Mike McFarnell, chairman of the Kent Hotels and Restaurant Association, said they had been looking at using the barracks to accommodate archers, supporters and spectators for the World Cup and European Archery Grand Prix, which is due to be held at the nearby Duke of York's School for the first time next summer.

Hotels and guest houses were already full over that period, he said, and the barracks would be ideal for extra accommodation.