MORE than 12,000 Hampshire residents delivered their verdict on Hampshire County Council's libraries plan yesterday when a petition containing their names was delivered to the authority's leader.

The petition, which was organised by the public services union Unison, was handed personally to Councillor Ken Thornber outside the county council's Winchester headquarters.

It calls on Cllr Thornber to rethink the authority's proposals for the county's library service which would see 27 jobs axed and the salaries of 17 other workers cut.

A spokesman said: "This petition is a reflection of the concerns shared by Hampshire residents, who may feel encouraged to know that earlier this month Unison launched a national Defend the Public Library Service campaign in order to protect public library services across the country."

Cllr Thornber blamed the cuts on central Government. He said: "We do recognise the strength and depth of feeling over the issue of job losses but the fact remains the library service needs to live within its means and we have approached this in a way that is designed to lessen the impact on the public by protecting libraries from closure, by not reducing opening hours and by reducing the need to draw on the book fund.

"No one wants to see huge council tax rises or cuts in services but the only way to prevent this is for Government to face facts and provide adequate funding to meet the rising costs of providing local services."