Wantage Conservative candidate Robert Jackson has been accused of being "out of touch with local issues" following a row over hospital beds.

In a newsletter to constituents, Mr Jackson - who has represented the town since 1983 - criticised the Labour Government's record on health, blaming it for closing six beds at Wantage Community Hospital.

The Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Neil Fawcett accused the former science minister of getting his facts wrong, insisting no beds had been lost.

Dinah Perkins, the primary care manager at Wantage, confirmed that no beds had been lost at the hospital.

Mr Jackson was a key campaigner in the fight to save the county's community hospitals, following plans by the Oxfordshire Community Health NHS Trust, with the support of Oxfordshire Health Authority to close beds to save more than £1m.

The shake-up eventually led to the closure of Watlington and Burford hospitals, although plans to close six beds at Wantage were defeated after a hard-fought campaign by hospital supporters and townspeople.

Mr Fawcett said: "Robert Jackson claims to have taken part in the campaign to save our local community hospitals, yet in a recent campaign leaflet he got the basic facts wrong. He claims that beds were lost at Wantage hospital when anyone who was involved in the campaign knows that no beds were lost. Once again he has shown himself to be out of touch with key local issues."

Mr Jackson said: "There is a state of confusion. Six beds were earmarked for closure and my understanding is they were closed. "I participated in an all-party campaign to save these beds and now we have got the Liberal Democrats turning round and attacking me. There may be some confusion over whether beds closed and when they re-opened, but this is nit-picking on behalf of Neil Fawcett.

Dr Peter Kyle, of the Newbury Street practice in Wantage, said: "There was a plan to close six beds at Wantage Community Hospital but we found ways around it."