FEARS over the future of a Hampshire maternity ward have reached Westminster.

Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage voiced her concerns over the temporary closure of Blake Ward at Gosport War Memorial Hospital.

She told the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health, Anne Milton, that the ward had been shut down temporarily due to a lack of midwives to cover the area.

Mrs Dinenage added that she feared for the health of mothers and their babies who are now forced to travel to Portsmouth.

She said: “Our local birthing ward has been closed meaning women in labour have to travel along our peninsular A32 with all its traffic issues, to Cosham.

“This could have catastrophic results if babies end up being born en route without proper medical care in attendance.”

The House of Commons was told that the ward was due to be re-opened in January.