THOUSANDS of protesters are expected to take to the streets this weekend in what is expected to be Bury's biggest demonstration against plans to axe Fairfield Hospital's maternity department.

The final preparations for Saturday's Babies First protest march are in full swing. It will get underway at noon, leaving from Clarence Park, off Walmersley Road, and heading for Kay Gardens.

From there, members of the campaign leaders the Fairfield Baby Lifeline Society will be travelling to the head office of the Greater Manchester Strategic Health Authority in an open-top double decker bus to deliver a petition with 38,000 signatures against the Making it Better proposals, which includes the closure of the special care baby unit. In October, 2004, 3,000 people marched through the town in protest against the threatened loss of local health services.

Now Lifeline member Sharron Entwistle is again urging the public to put their words of support into action and join them for Saturday's rally.

She said: "If you, the public of Bury, value your services then you really must turn up and show your support. This is probably the last time you will get to have your voices heard before the final decision is made. "We cannot let our services be taken away without a fight. We, the people of Bury, have the power to do this." The protest is against proposals currently undergoing formal public consultation which will see Fairfield Hospital lose its maternity department and mothers no longer able to give birth in their hometown unless they opt for a home birth. Instead, they will have to travel at least nine miles to reach the nearest hospital with suitable facilities.

Health bosses claim the changes are necessary to prevent wards across Greater Manchester from having to close unexpectedly due to staff shortages and to give doctors the chance to specialise their skills by treating more patients in a fewer number of units.

The preferred option is to centralise units at eight sites: North Manchester, Tameside, Wigan, Bolton, Oldham, Stockport, Wythenshawe and St Mary's hospitals. However, campaigners argue the centralisation will leave a huge gap in service provision for the north of the reconfiguration area and that the proposals will put more lives at risk.

Doctors and midwives from Fairfield have already expressed concern at the proposals during a public meeting held last month claiming the decision to close Bury's unit made "no sense".

The protesters for Saturday's march will gather at Walkers Field in Clarence Park, off Chesham Road, ready to set off at 12pm and make their way down Walmersley Road to the pedestrianised part of The Rock. From there, they will move down Market Street and are expected to reach the finishing point at Kay Gardens between 1pm to 1.30pm. The protesters will be welcomed by Vera Stringer, the acting chairman of the former Bury NHS Trust and chairman of the lifeline society Dr Said Hany will deliver a short speech to the crowd before the campaign bus departs. Bury's two MPs, David Chaytor and Ivan Lewis, are expected to take part in the protest along with the leader of Bury Council, Councillor Wayne Campbell.

Traffic travelling down Walmersley Road from Chesham Road to Bury will be stopped as the protesters make their way to The Rock.