Disabled Victor Coppin is set to make a stand about a supermarket demanding deliveries on a near 24-hour basis over the Christmas and New Year period.

The fighting 52-year-old is furious over an application by Sainsbury's, whose delivery bays are directly opposite his North Road, Brentwood, home, to extend their allowed delivery hours.

He learned of their plans in a letter from Brentwood Council asking residents views on their application for deliveries to start at 5am and end at 11pm seven days a week from December 11 to January 6.

Angry Mr Coppin said: "Once they're allowed to do this once they will want to do it all the time. Enough is enough I say.

"Their current delivery hours are from 7am to 9pm Monday to Saturday and from 7am to noon on Sunday.

"These are bad enough as the lorries are often there before and after those times waiting with their engines running outside our home early in the morning or revving up and rumbling out late at night. They are already a terrible noise and nuisance.

"With these proposed new hours I know lorries will be waiting from well before 5am and leaving well after 11pm which will make it into an almost 24-hour operation.

"I suffer from arthritis and thrombosis and am registered disabled. Because of this I sleep downstairs and my wife, Valerie, 48, upstairs in the front rooms of the house and we both suffer severely with sleep disturbance.

"I already have to take two to three sleeping pills a night and I dread to think how many I might need if this goes ahead.

"I will be writing to Brentwood Council to express my most vigorous opposition to this application and I hope they will remember the promises they have made to residents here in the past and turn it down."

Sainsbury's was unavailable for comment.

Taking stock . . . Victor Copping and wife Valerie with the Sainsbury's proposal calling for deliveries to be allowed from 5am through to 11pm.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.