The pie is made with uncured pork meat

Pie makers and politicians started the petition in Melton Mowbray in February calling for a ban on pies made outside the town using its name.

The organisers are taking their case to the government to call for a change in the law.

They say the response so far has been overwhelming.

The champagne of pies

Stephen Hallam, from Dickinson and Morris Pork Pies in Melton, said they wanted to follow the example of other producers of strongly-branded food.

"By law it cannot come from anywhere else in the world - the other classical example is Champagne," he said.

Members of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association have been campaigning for four and a half years to get a law introduced.