CAMPAIGNERS battling to save Brixham's tourist information centre have found a new ally.

The Brixham Tourism Partnership has backed the fight.

The crusade against scrapping the TIC in favour of a series of information hubs in local shops and businesses is growing.

An ongoing petition against the proposal has already been signed by more than 1,700 people and the town council has voted to keep the service in its current location at the Old Custom House.

Now the town's tourism partnership is also getting behind the battle.

Chairman Gordon Gout says the group has put aside its non political policy because the majority of members feel so strongly about the controversial issue.

He said: "The TICs across the Bay are really important to us because they help to promote the town from Torquay and Paignton.

"They also help to promote our ideas, such as the Brixham map.

"When you visit any new town the first place you go to is the TIC.

"Brixham is different from Torquay and Paignton as it's a traditional fishing town and people who come here expect us to have a TIC, which is a traditional British seaside service.

"We are supporting the campaign because of the strength of feeling in the town.

"We don't really get involved in politics but as this issue is about tourism and because we feel so strongly ourselves about it, we are making an exception."

Torbay's tourism project manager Carolyn Custerson says the TICs in Brixham and Paignton are not cost effective as only 25 per cent of the Bay's annual 3.3 million visitors use the three TICs.

Brixham's TIC costs £40,000 a year to run and this money could be better spent on marketing the resort instead, she says.

Mr Gout has come up with a plan to pay for the TIC's running costs, taking the pressure off Torbay Council.

He proposes asking big businesses in the port, such as the banks, breweries and supermarkets, to chip in a few thousand pounds each to pay for the service.

He said: "Let's get the business people together and try and do it. The smaller ones couldn't afford it but the larger ones have the money. It would be peanuts to them.

"After all the TIC helps bring their customers to them."

Mr Gout, who runs the quayside Tides Restaurant, said if Brixham has the chance to head up its own Business Improvement District scheme it could eventually help pay for the town's TIC.

Traders in Torquay town centre are currently being asked to back a BID scheme, and if it goes ahead it will see businesses pay more in rates, but have a say where their money is spent.

It is hoped if the scheme goes ahead it will be rolled out to Paignton and Brixham.

Mr Gout added: "With money from big businesses we could run the TIC for a year and by then the BID may have started and that could pay for it in the future."