PASTY eaters and makers in Callington are 'outraged' by the Government's proposal to put Value Added Tax on pasties and other hot savoury food from October.

People are being urged to sign an online petition to try and stop the proposal which will see a 20% levy added to the price of pasties.

VAT is not charged on most food and drink or hot baked goods but it is payable on takeaway food sold to be eaten hot. Ministers said all food sold 'above ambient temperature' should carry VAT.

But the move has provoked a strong reaction in Cornwall where the Cornish pasty industry accounts as one of the largest employers in the county.

Gail Buttery, who has recently taken over the pasty shop in Callington's Church Street, said the pasty was not a luxury but a staple part of the daily diet for some families.

'My customers are up in arms over this,' she said. 'Many people who work in the town come in regularly for a lunchtime pasty. Will they pay £2.40 overnight for something they pay £2 for now? I don't know.

'Yes we can serve them cold but do we issue instructions on warming them up in microwaves to a safe temperature. We don't want people suffering from food poisoning and neither, I think, does the Government as the workload on GPs would increase.'

Gail has put a 'say no to pasty tax' sign in the window of The Pasty Shop.

Cornishman Ben McWatt from Worth the Earth Tree Services in St Germans starts his day with a pasty and sometimes has two a day.

'As Cornish people we have been eating pasties for hundreds of years —why should we be persecuted by the English Government.

'I love pasties I would still probably buy them - even though it could mean as much as 80p extra a day for me — but I am not happy about it.'

Callington resident Morwenna Hearn said: 'I am very much against the pasty tax — it will affect many small businesses, not least The Pasty Stop which has only just opened up again.'

l To add your name to the online petition go to the website: epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/31807