MORE than 400 people have backed a 12-hour protest over the downgrading of services at Burnley General Hospital.

Patients traveled from as far afield as Rossendale and Skipton to show their support for the vigil outside the Casterton Avenue hospital, organised by Burnley council leader Councillor Gordon Birtwistle and colleagues.

Accident and emergency facilities at the Burnley hospital will be downgraded to an urgent care centre no later than November 1.

Hospital chiefs say it will still deal with 85 per cent of the cases it does at present - but campaigners fear lives will be lost and patient care compromised as people are transported to the Royal Blackburn Hospital for emergency treatment.

Coun Birtwistle, who remained outside the hospital from 8am to 8pm, said: "It has been a real success. We have had around 400 people coming up and showing their support.

"People have been coming here from Colne, Barnoldswick, and Rossendale in the other direction. We've even had people from Skipton dropping by.

"There was even one old lady who came down on the bus from Nelson especially to see us and offer her support.

"It has been really widespread and not just involved Burnley people at all. People have also been sounding their horns all day in support of our campaign.

"People are appalled by what's going on and they think it's disgusting that our services are being taken away from us.

"If Winston Churchill had done nothing in 1939 we would be living in a very different world by now so I'm determined to do what I can. I will probably fail but at least I will able to sleep at night knowing I have tried."

A spokesman for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust said that they respected Coun Birtwistle's right to protest.

But they said that the A&E department will change to become an urgent care centre, which will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Officials say the centre will still see and treat almost nine out of 10 people. Only serious cases needing a blue light ambulance - around 13 per cent of emergencies - will actually go to Royal Blackburn Hospital.

An extra three ambulance vehicles and more than 30 additional staff have been pledged by the North West Ambulance Service to meet the demands of the changes, being marshalled under the Meeting Patients Needs programme.

Construction work is currently ongoing on a helipad, which can be used by air ambulances, at the Blackburn site. This would be a first for East Lancashire as air ambulance cases are currently diverted to the Royal Preston Hospital.