Plan for first Halal motorway station

A Pakistani community group is looking for European funding to set up Britain's first motorway service station serving halal meat and vegetarian curries.

The Birmingham-based Pakistan Welfare Association wants to build the pounds 35m "balti-break" service station on the hub of the West Midlands motorway network which includes the M6, M5, M40 and M42 motorways.

If approved, work on the scheme, known as Shalimar 2000, could begin by the end of the year and completed by the end of the century.

The 600 jobs set to be created would be mainly filled by members of Birmingham's large Muslim population and would be primarily aimed at them.

The idea came to retired teacher Mohammed Akram Mirza when he could find no service stations that served halal food - meat from animals slaughtered according to Muslim law. Mr Mirza, 60, vice-chairman of the welfare association based in Handsworth, Birmingham, said: "Being a Muslim I have to have halal food so it forced me to do some research."

He is now negotiating with local councils over five possible sites and says the scheme would be eligible for an EU grant from the regional development fund. Birmingham City Council is also being asked to provide pounds 5,000 for a feasibility study into the scheme which would be run by a non-profit making company with proceeds ploughed back into the service station and the local Muslim community.