THE fight to save Malmesbury maternity unit continues this weekend after mothers marched on Parliament calling on the Government to intervene.

Placard waving mothers from Malmesbury and Devizes, angry at health chiefs' proposals to shut both units, presented a 8,650 name petition to MPs on Monday calling on Health secretary John Reid to step in and save the units.

North Wiltshire MP James Gray, Devizes MP Michael Ancram and South Swindon MP Julia Drown, who received the petition, will continue the battle at a meeting this weekend.

Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust only recently revealed figures that explained why closing the unit would save them up to £300,000. With only a month to go in the consultation period, Mr Gray said that delay was a disgrace.

He said: "I strongly believe the health service should be providing the service people want. There is more to the health service than just money."

Organised by the Save Malmesbury Maternity Unit Action Group, the meeting on Saturday at 1.30pm in the town hall will be one of the last chances Malmesbury people have of questioning the PCT.

Swindon mum Sarah Newman, who has been at the forefront of the campaign to save the unit, urged people to pack the hall to their show support.

She said: "This is our big focus of all the work we have been doing around Malmesbury.

"We would like to see as many people as can make it so we can get our point of view through to the PCT."

Closing both the Malmesbury and Devizes units would mean 11 fewer staff being employed it was revealed last week.

That was a significant reduction in staff across the PCT's units in Trowbridge, Devizes, Chippenham and Malmesbury, said Mrs Newman.

"The reduction is 16 per cent of staff across all the PCT's four units. It is a significant proportion that can't but affect the quality of service for patients," she said.

But Mrs Newman said evidence from other community units in the country proved they could be run more efficiently with higher breast feeding rates and lower numbers of post natal depression than at district general hospitals.

The campaign will present the trust's chief executive Tim Boucher, and the trust's director of community service Phil Day a possible alternative to their proposals on Saturday.

By increasing the number of births at Malmesbury from outlying area Mrs Newman said the unit could be made more cost effective.

"It is a difficult campaign but I still think we have a chance of winning and we want to present our point of view as positively as we can.

"The PCT has not really addressed the issues. The fact they published the financial background so late, showing the cost saving came from job cuts, is evidence of this."

The PCT want to consolidate the Malmesbury unit with the 10-bed unit at Chippenham.