THE campaign to fight the closure of more than half the beds at Williton Hospital continued to gather pace this week as supporters revealed support was growing.

The hospital's League of Friends, which has raised thousands of pounds for additional facilities and improvements at the community unit, issued a public vote of thanks to local town and parish councils across West Somerset.

A spokesman said councils had responded by offering "unqualified support" for the campaign: "We would like to offer our sincere thanks to them all," said the spokesman.

"The support of so many has provided an even greater incentive, should one be needed, for the league to continue to do all it can to overturn the decision to close more than half of our hospital."

The Somerset Partnership NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, announced last November that following a review the number of beds would be cut from 45 to 20.

It said the review revealed that on average beds were less than three-quarters full, with bed occupancy rates consistently low over the last two years.

But campaigners are questioning the statistics, claiming they know of many instances of difficulties in getting a bed at the hospital, which has a dedicated stroke unit and also has an excellent reputation for palliative care.

Williton Parish Council, who has asked health chiefs to attend a public meeting in the village to discuss the cutbacks, last week launched an appeal for the community's help in building a case to fight the bed closures.

Councillors want to hear from local people or their relatives who have experienced problems in getting admitted to Williton or transferred from other hospitals.

And they also want to hear from anyone who has been discharged home from Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital, or other general hospitals, rather than being given the chance to recuperate at Williton.

The league is expecting a planned meeting with trust bosses to take place shortly and has pledged to issue a statement afterwards to keep everyone informed of developments.

Williton Parish Council can be contacted on 01984 633979 and is based at the parish office in Killick Way.