A PETITION signed by 721 people calling for better funding for GPs in 'crisis' has been handed in to Oxfordshire health bosses.

Liberal Democrat candidates for Oxfordshire County Council Jenny Hannaby (Wantage and Grove) and David Grant (Faringdon) presented the petition on Monday to the organisation which bids for and distributes all NHS funding for hospitals and health centres in the county – Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

The CCG revealed this month it had only managed to secure £2m funding from NHS England to expand and maintain surgeries from £50m worth of applications.

Mr Grant said: "The petition has been collected by the Liberal Democrats in the Vale of White Horse on behalf of residents of Faringdon, Wantage and Grove and the surrounding villages who are concerned by the news that their GP surgeries will not receive funding to build the facilities necessary to keep pace with the area’s growing population.

"Without such infrastructure we will see the strain on our medical practices and practitioners increase even further and waiting times rise for patients."

Conservative Mayor of Wantage Steve Trinder, who is also standing in the county elections on May 4 for his town, said his party was equally worried about the issue.

He said: "We are desperate for more funding, and we as a town council have been knocking on all the doors we can to help get it."