A pressure group is targeting high street shops in a bid to have legislation introduced which would require retailers to keep their doors shut.

The Campaign to Stop High Street Heat Loss maintains that, without legislation, shops would continue to keep doors open despite the fact that they could save 54 per cent on their energy bills and reduce usage by 2.5 per cent.

The group has set up a petition designed to push the government to take urgent measures and pass legislation that insists on shop front doors being kept shut.

This, they claim, would save, would save 10 tonne of CO2, the equivalent of three flights from the UK to Hong Kong.

Some high street traders have already got the message with Boots, Marks and Spencers and Waterstones are among those who have made the commitment to keeping doors closed.

Research suggests that some larger chains and many independent shops keep their doors open because they are afraid of losing trade.

Debbie Wright, owner of a Maryport cafe and interiors business, said her door was always closed during winter "because it is too cold to leave it open."

She said: "I pay my power bill by direct debit so I am not sure yet how much my increase will be. I am waiting for my January reading to come back."

But she has no doubt that the price will have gone up considerably "as has everything else."

According to the energy protestors, research from Cambridge University in 2010 revealed that shops that kept their doors open consumed twice as much electricity as those that did not.