CANDLES spelling out NHS will be lit in Bonn Square, Oxford, as part of a vigil.

Protests are being held across the country over December 14 and 15 against the privatisation of the NHS.

Keep our NHS Public Oxfordshire will hold its vigil from 7-9pm on December 14.

The candles will be surrounded by a heart to signify the regard the British public have for the NHS.

Dr Ken Williamson of Oxfordshire Keep Our NHS Public said: "The Government use words such as modernisation and flexibility to explain why it is handing over huge swaths of the NHS to the big companies.

"The Government needs to come clean with its policy of privatisation and stop blaming doctors, nurses and managers. "The public need to wake up to what happening before the first bill arrives on their doormats.' For more information visit www.keepournhspublic.org.uk