THE race is on to save a Hadleigh pub from its fast-food fate.

Mysterious leaflets have been handed out and posted throughout the town bearing the headline “Don’t Let Hadleigh Be Destroyed” in response to plans to build a KFC on the Crown pub site.

The leaflet, which bears no contact name, was delivered through the letterboxes of businesses and residents.

It claims the proposed KFC in London Road will increase litter and congestion at the cost of demolishing a listed building.

It urges residents to write to Castle Point Council’s planning committee with their objections before the July 1 deadline.

It is not known who is behind the leaflets, but plenty of people are supporting the cause.

Alfred Papworth, 75, of Ashdown Crescent, Had-leigh, said the town had too many fast-food outlets.

He said: “We’ve already got a McDonald’s, chip shops, three cafes and four restaurants.

“A small town like this doesn’t need any more. They are gradually turning this place into a concrete jungle.”

Fellow resident Simon Hart, 44, warned the restaurant would also cause road chaos. Mr Hart, of Daws Heath Road, Hadleigh, said: “You’re going to have drivers pulling in and out of the London Road.

“That road is busy at the best of times. There could easily be an accident.”

However, Mark Donovan, a director of the town’s largest retailer Choice, maintains the proposals would benefit the town.

He said: “Big names like KFC will draw in further investment.

“People have got to think about the bigger picture.

“It will employ 40 or 50 staff, the Crown is a lovely place, but it only employs six or seven.”

The council must take a decision on the KFC plans by July 21.