Campaigners are calling on health bosses to ring-fence money raised from the sale of Wantage's former health centre for the benefit of the town's hospital.

The South West Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust is being urged to spend the £800,000 it is expected to get from selling the former health centre in Garston Lane on bringing the neighbouring hospital up to date.

The PCT has previously agreed to sell the health centre to the Wantage Nursing Home Charitable Trust, which will grant a long lease to Sanctuary Care Limited to build and manage a 50-bedroom care home for the elderly.

Plans for the £3m centre have been submitted to the Vale of White Horse District Council, and the trust is due to launch a campaign to raise money to support its plans at a public meeting in Wantage Civic Hall on April 29.

But county, district and town councillor Andrew Crawford, who was involved in a campaign last year against moves to close Wantage Hospital, is leading calls for the PCT to spend money raised from the sale of the health centre on the 24-bed hospital.

He said £800,000 was the figure given in a PCT paper last year that needed to be spent on refurbishing the hospital.

Mr Crawford, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for the town, said: "We very much welcome the commitment of the PCT to the new nursing home.

"However, health chiefs in Oxfordshire should be aware of the strength of the public campaign to secure the future of our community hospital."

Jenny Hannaby, chairman of the Wantage Hospital Committee, said: "The hard work of our long-standing campaign for a nursing home has paid off but we are also campaigning for the Wantage Hospital and want a rethink by the PCT on the use of the funds."

A statement from the PCT said: "The PCTs would consider using those funds to ensure that any estates, health and safety, fire safety risks and the need to take forward legislation such as the Disability Act, would be first priority and in that respect issues pertaining to WantageHospital would be appropriately dealt with."