The Melton Chamber of Trade said people were being discouraged from shopping in the town because of the congestion.

A bypass has been suggested in the past but the group said a ring road would be more effective.

A county council highways spokesman said the authority backed the plans but added a ring road would be costly and a bypass was more realistic.

'Traffic frustrations'

He said: "We share the chamber's view that in the long term we must have a full ring road for Melton Mowbray.

"Ring roads are very expensive so we are working towards one in stages, starting with the bypass which we are pushing forward as quickly as we can."

Chamber of trade spokesman Justin Morgan said: "We have a situation... where people are saying to us, 'I don't shop in the town, I now go to Grantham or Nottingham or Leicester' simply because it's easier.

"That's absolutely incredible that we're negatively impacting on commerce because our road infrastructure is incapable of dealing with the traffic that we have."

The group is holding a meeting entitled 'Keep Melton Moving' to petition for a ring road at the town's Cattle Market exhibition centre on Friday.

MP Alan Duncan, as well as representatives from the police, borough and county councils are expected to attend.

The East Midlands Regional Assembly has called for construction of a Melton bypass sometime after 2011.