Two mums took their fight to retain services at St Helier hospital right into the office of the healthcare review threatening it.

Michelle Baker and Karen Russell from the St Helier estate organised a huge picnic in front of St Helier hospital during the summer to protest against the recommendation to close St Helier’s A&E and maternity departments.

While the Better Services Better Value (BSBV) programme board met on Wednesday – and were expected to recommend which hospitals would lose their frontline services – the two mums took reams of paper with over 7,000 signatures to the reception of NHS SW London.

Ms Baker said: “After all the hard work we have put in I will be damned if these petitions are going to be sitting in my house any longer.

“At the end of the day people need to speak up for others – that’s what we are doing.”