A petition calling on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to halt planned cuts in spending on physics and astronomy has attracted more than 7,500 names in just three days.

Among the reasons for the planned £80m cuts ordered by the Science and Technology Facilities Council are higher than expected costs incurred by the Diamond Synchrotron and Isis neutron source, at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Chilton.

The online petition, at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ Physics-Funding/, will stay open until February 18.