MORE than 700 people have signed a petition against the closure of a care home in Melksham.

Waverley House, which caters for people with learning difficulties, is expected to close by April next year under new proposals from Wiltshire County Council.

Last month eight protesters gathered in the town centre to urge people to help keep it open, collecting 429 signatures in just two hours.

Now hundreds more local people have put their name to the petition, which will be presented to the county council next week.

Carol Nugent, of Forest Road, helped organise the protest and is planning to keep fighting for the rights of the 22 men and women who live at the care home.

She said: "We will hand the petition in at a meeting next Tuesday. If we are ignored we will go to an ombudsman."

Services for people with learning difficulties across the county have been reviewed and outdated homes will be replaced with more modern facilities in surrounding towns in a £26m investment programme.