HUNDREDS of people signed a petition on its first day today, urging the authorities to shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors.

The petition by the nuclear safety group Radiation Free Lakeland highlights the concerns of leading radiation experts.

It is to be delivered to Lancaster City Council, the leadership of energy supplier EDF, and the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

The petition states: “We the undersigned urge the closure of Heysham 1 and 2 nuclear power stations.

“These nuclear reactors are now 36 years old and have been given repeated life extensions above and beyond their ‘safe’ lifetime of under 30 years.

“The graphite cores are cracking due to 36 years of bombardment with radiation.”

Radiation Free Lakeland said: “This month marks the 15th anniversary of the Fukushima offshore earthquake, which caused the nuclear disaster.

“The sooner [Heysham 1 and 2] are shut down, the safer we shall all be when the next widely felt earthquake hits the coast off Heysham.”

Campaigners will be in the area over the next few weeks distributing leaflets promoting the petition, which can be signed online.

An EDF spokesperson said: “Nuclear safety is EDF’s overriding priority.

“All our sites, including the Heysham stations, are operated to the highest international standards.

“The stations have been part of the community for more than 50 years with robust regulations in place to ensure the highest levels of safety for our employees and the communities in which we operate.

“We are operating within the graphite safety cases agreed with the ONR for the Heysham stations.

“This includes a demonstration that the reactors can be safely shutdown in the event of a major earthquake, larger than ever recorded in the UK.

“We continuously invest in our staff and the stations to maintain plant integrity and ensure operations are carried out safely and securely, and we only operate these stations if it is safe to do so.”