Campaigners fighting to save services at The Horton Hospital in Banbury received a massive show of support at a public rally.

At least 5,000 people packed into People's Park on Sunday to send a firm 'No' message to Oxfordshire's health bosses who want to cut essential services at the hospital.

The planned cutbacks include ending 24-hour, seven-days-a-week children's services, closing the special care baby unit, reducing maternity cover, shutting the obstetric and gynaecology departments, and closing operating theatres for out-of-hours surgery.

But a series of speakers, including Banbury MP Tony Baldry, South Northants MP Tim Boswell, former Horton consultant Dr Peter Fisher, town mayor John Donaldson, and Cherwell District Council leader Barry Wood, promised further action in the coming weeks to reinforce the opposition to the proposed changes.

Mr Baldry said: "For well over a century we have had a general hospital in Banbury. Generations of people have been born at The Horton, cared for at The Horton, and nursed at The Horton.

"The region is fast-growing and we need to keep The Horton as a general hospital. Over the years, local people have given millions of pounds in donations to The Horton because they care about their hospital and want it to remain for future generations."

He added: "We're in this situation because the Government has told Oxfordshire to cut £33m from its budget. But the Department of Health's own figures show the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust is the most efficient in the country so why is it having to lose 600 jobs?"

"We cannot wish away the £33m cuts, but we can come up with ideas to lessen the effect on The Horton.

"It will be a two-pronged campaign. Oxfordshire MPs will lobby the Government in Westminster and locally we will use the coming three months of public consultation to try to Keep The Horton as a general (hospital)."

Dr Fisher said people feared the coming public consultation would be a sham and that decisions had already been made.

He added: "What is being proposed for The Horton is what we feared reducing children's services, losing the special care baby unit, and the rest. Health bosses in Oxford told us we were scaremongering. But that is what they're doing and can we be sure this will be the end of it?"

The council has invited ORH trust managers to a meeting of its environment select committee on Monday when The Horton will be discussed, and the Save the Horton battle will continue on Thursday, July 6, when NHS officials come to Banbury for a public consultation meeting in St Mary's Church.

Mayor Mr Donaldson said: "I believe enough is enough.

"Health bosses should start with what we want, not with what they want. We have a right to expect health services to be provided locally, when we need them and we want The Horton to remain as it is."

Mr Baldry tabled a Commons motion on Oxfordshire's health cuts, claiming the trust was under-funded "by the same amount that the Prime Minister's constituency is funded above the national average."

He also called on Tony Blair to apologise for his alleged comments that the job losses in the county were only "so-called".