MORE than 1,000 people have written to council chiefs pleading for Worcester City FC to come home to Perdiswell - with just 23 per cent objecting to it.

Your Worcester News can today reveal the full scale of the public response to proposals for a new stadium on Perdiswell Park, with an overwhelming majority backing the bid.

Exactly one year ago Worcester City Council launched a public consultation over it, with a record tally of people taking part.

Twelve months on, an analysis of the feedback reveals:

- 1,603 people were invited to take part, resulting in just 374 objections

- 1,008 supportive letters have gone to the council, the largest response over

- The council has lumped the outstanding responses into various brackets, with 17 classed as 'general comment', 22 recorded as 'general concern' and another 38 listed under 'no objection'

The findings mean just 23 per cent of people decided to formally object to the stadium, while nearly 70 per cent were 'for' it if you take out the 144 non-respondents who live nearby.

The verdict comes after the stance of the city's new leader, Councillor Marc Bayliss, who said last month he'd "have to be deaf" to ignore a clamour against the Perdiswell scheme due to the scale of objections.

The club's supporter's trust submitted a planning application over a 4,100 capacity ground on the open space back in April 2014, but it has been bogged down in technical hold-ups.

As we revealed last month, the council's managing director Sheena Ramsey has told club officials the authority is now hunting for alternative sites, should Perdiswell fail to get past planners.

But the details of the public response has stirred the trust and Worcester Labour Party, which has issued a fresh plea to back the Perdiswell bid.

Rob Crean, supporter's trust secretary, said: "Perdiswell is still our preferred option and we've told the council that - this shows it's broadly three-to-one in favour of it."

Labour group leader Councillor Adrian Gregson said it shows the project has "overwhelming support" in the city and has urged the leadership to stop "wringing its hands" over it.

The campaign group 'Protect Perdiswell Park' has collected more than 800 signatures on a petition against it, compared to a separate trust one with well over 1,200 supportive names.

Jason Marshall, from Protect Perdiswell Park, said: "It's frustrating that they seem to have lost the point - they haven't made the case for it."

Councillor Bayliss held private talks with the trust last Friday and has called it "a very positive first meeting" about the club's future.

He insists he wants to "work together to bring the club back home".

The campaign group 'Protect Perdiswell Park' has collected more than 800 signatures on a petition against it, compared to a separate trust one with well over 1,200 supportive names.