Mothers march over maternity unit plans

More than 500 protesters took part in the march

Hundreds of people have taken to the streets of a Wiltshire town to protest at the proposed closure of its maternity unit.

More than 500 protesters - many of them women with children in pushchairs - took part in the march against plans to close the unit in Devizes.

They walked through the centre of the market town, to applause and support from passers-by, to the headquarters of the local primary care trust to deliver a petition.

The maternity units at Malmesbury and Devizes are under threat because Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) needs to find £10m budget cuts.

Becky Veall was delighted with the response

Protest organisers had expected up to 100 people to attend and help deliver the 6,000-signature petition.

But they were overwhelmed by the numbers of people who turned out to support the unit.

Becky Veall said: "I'm absolutely ecstatic - it was well above anything we could possibly have imagined.

She added: "What started as quite a small affair has really snowballed.

"I want to thank everybody who came along to take part and to all those who supported us by beeping their horns and waving at us.

22 May

"It made us feel that we were really doing something worthwhile."

Tim Boucher, chair of the Kennet and North Wiltshire PCT, told the BBC: "We cannot guarantee anything at this moment.

"There are some difficult decisions to make and we have been open about that.

"We will carefully consider all the points that have been made to us," he added.

A decision on the fate of the maternity units will be made on 22 May.