THE LARGEST ever Isle of Wight petition - signed by around half of the county's population - has been handed to government officials.

Nearly 61,000 people signed the petition organised by Island MP Andrew Turner and supported by local Townswomen's Guilds opposing proposals contained in The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Strategic Health Authority's HealthFit document to dramatically downgrade services at St Mary's Hospital, Newport.

The petition was so large that the "bag" behind the Speaker's chair into which petitions are normally dropped (hence the expression "in the bag") was too small to hold the document.

Mr Turner thanked everyone who had gathered signatures or signed or supported the petition.

He said: "When I launched the petition on January 24, it was with some trepidation that I announced a target of 50,000 signatures so I am absolutely delighted with the final total, a clear indication of the outcome that local people want to see.

"I will be keeping a close eye on developments but it is absolutely clear that the proposals outlined in the original HealthFit document are unacceptable to the majority of Islanders."