Fans petition to save 'Home and Away' couple

Fans of Home and Away's lesbian couple Charlie (Esther Anderson) and Joey (Kate Bell) have started an online petition to keep the pair together.

The controversial relationship has been the focus of fierce debate in Australia with conservative groups arguing that it is inappropriate for the soap’s 7pm PG-rated timeslot.

"This petition is to keep Home and Away's new lesbian couple, Charlie and Joey, together and to help people understand that love is love, pure and simple. It should transcend all barriers and prejudices," said the petition's creator Mag Melvy Jolie. "Just because society deems something wrong or abnormal doesn't mean it is.

"People have to accept and embrace the fact that gays, lesbians and bisexuals are as human as any of us and they have the right to fall in love with whoever they want as well as to stay in that relationship happily just like everyone else."

Over 1,300 people have so far signed the petition posted on petitions.tigweb.org.

An 'I Support Charlie and Joey' group has also been set up on facebook, with more than 300 fans already signing up.