A call to all independent retailers to stand together and fight the march of the supermarkets was made by Mark Wilson (pictured) group operations manager at the Fraser Group, in a Forecourt Live! lunchtime session at the IFFE show.

"We have to draw a line in the sand and come together. The Office of Fair Trading has commissioned a look into the convenience retailing market, and specifically, how the supermarkets are rapidly killing off businesses. Five years ago there were 15,000 forecourts in the UK. Now there are less than 10,000. That’s one third of our industry gone in five years. One thousand convenience stores a year are closing.

"We just can’t allow this to continue. The one thing that connects all of us here today is that we have a passion for our industry. If you’re not a member of the PRA or ACS then I suggest you join now. And I implore that each and every one of you that is not a member of these organisations do your bit as well. Write to your local MP about Sunday Trading laws - as we have. You can make a difference."