HUNDREDS of angry Isle of Wight residents last night threw their weight behind the campaign to keep accident and emergency services on the Island.

At a public meeting at the Medina Theatre in Newport, more than 400 residents expressed their concerns about plans to move maternity and A&E facilities from St Mary's Hospital to the mainland.

For hours health officials tried in vain to reassure islanders about plans revealed two weeks ago in the Daily Echo in a document called Healthfit, which suggests that only three accident and emergency services need to be provided in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight. These units would be at Southampton, Portsmouth and Basingstoke.

Isle of Wight MP Andrew Turner, who is leading a campaign entitled Hands Off Our Hospital, said his parliamentary petition opposing the plans already had collected 12,000 signatures plus a further 400 on the night, He added: "I want to make sure the suggestion does not turn into concrete proposals. It has lit the touch paper of grave concern for the Island's residents."

But assistant chief executive Richard Samuel of the strategic health authority said Healthfit was purely a discussion document and was not a policy statement nor a set of proposals and that no decision had yet been made.

DOWNLOAD A PETITION FORM BY CLICKING THE SAVE OUR A&E LOGO ON THE RIGHT OF THIS PAGE.