A plea has been made for town and district councils to work together to combat the threat to Wallingford Community Hospital.

Wallingford mayor Betty Atkins urged South Oxfordshire District Council leader Ann Ducker and cabinet member for health Pat Dawe to work with the town council.

She said: "We must mount a united front in this campaign.

"If we do not do so, the South East Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust will exploit any apparent disagreement.

"Our efforts must be co-ordinated."

The PCT has said there is a question mark over the future medical use of the Wallingford hospital site, as new facilities are targeted on Didcot. The town council has set up a Save Wallingford Hospital campaign, and the district council is setting up a task force to look at the future of Wallingford, Didcot and Henley hospitals.

Mrs Dawe, who was Wallingford's town clerk and took an active part in combating threats to close the hospital in 1998, said: "We have to show the trust what local people want now at Wallingford hospital and what they want for the future.

"It serves the surrounding villages with a very wide range of clinics and services and is vitally impoprtant."