Campaigners yesterday stepped up their battle against a new nuclear power station in Somerset by handing a major petition to 10 Downing Street.

Members of the Stop Hinkley campaign dressed up in white overalls and gas masks, as they presented almost 13,000 signatures to Prime Minister David Cameron.

They were accompanied by Wells Liberal Democrat MP Tessa Munt, and Caroline Lucas, the leader of the Green Party.

Supporters of nuclear power say a new reactor at Hinkley will secure thousands of jobs and pump billions into the West Country’s economy.

But green campaigners are focusing their attention on Hinkley Point, where French company EDF want to build the first new nuclear power station in Britain in a generation.

They believe if is approved, it will pave the way for another seven around Britain’s coast, including one at Oldbury in South Gloucestershire.

They are unhappy the planning application will be decided by the Bristol-based quango the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) even though the coalition is to scrap it.

Speaking at Downing Street, Katy Attwater from Stop Hinkley told the Daily Press: “We are handing it in today because last week the Independent Planning Commission received EDF’s application to build a new nuclear power station.

“We want to bring to people’s awareness the fact we are now rolling down the road to nuclear – this petition is signed by 13,000 people in Somerset because they are opposed to the plan to construct a new nuclear power station.

“We want the Government to invest in renewables and actively pursue energy efficiency measures.

“There are 344,000 workers in Germany within the renewables industry, 10 times the number in the nuclear industry in the UK.

“The Government are being asked to join us in what is being called the third industrial revolution, which means we will stop using up the resources of the planet, and our energy will come from the sun, tides, waves, wind and geothermals.”

The petition says: “We, the undersigned, strongly oppose the plan by EDF to construct a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset.

“Instead, a Government-backed programme of energy saving and clean renewable energy would combat climate change and avoid the risks of a catastrophic accident, dangers to health and the storage of highly radioactive waste at Hinkley for 160 years.”

The petition was also handed to Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat Energy and Climate Change Secretary.

Stop Hinkley say this year’s Fukushima accident in Japan resulted in the meltdown of three reactors, the release of radioactive material into the air and sea. It says if a similar disaster happened at Hinkley, the town of Bridgwater, which has a population of 40,000, would have to be abandoned.