A COFFIN containing a petition bearing 35,000 names was "laid to rest" outside County Hall as protesters staged a final rally against moves to shut care homes.

Hundreds of people from Blackpool, Fylde, Wyre and the rest of Lancashire travelled to Preston last Saturday (June 29) for the march, bringing the city to a standstill.

After gathering on Preston's flag market, the marchers travelled down Fishergate until they reached County Hall, where the coffin bearing the inscription "Lancashire County Council Social Services RIP" was handed over to Hilton Dawson, MP for Lancaster and Wyre.

A decision on plans to close 35 of Lancashire's care homes, which would save £14.5million in repairs and refurbishments, was due to be made on Monday.

But last month Chris Cheetham, the councillor in charge of social services, put the decision back a month so more meetings could be held with organisations interested in taking over some of the homes.

A subsequent meeting took place on Tuesday, where protesters handed over the petition to council chiefs.

Poulton-based Bob Trafford, whose uncle is a resident in the threatened Queensway Lodge, Poulton, was present at the rally and meeting.

Mr Trafford is also the vice chairman for the Lancashire Care Home Action Group. He said: "The rally went very well, although there was no-one from the council to receive the petition or coffin on Saturday. However, we were able to hand the petition over in person at the meeting on Tuesday which was attended by Chris Cheetham. We didn't hand the coffin over as it was too big to get in the building.

"The meeting also went well and we felt that Hilton Dawson was very supportive of our cause. In the future we are hoping to be involved more in subsequent meetings and disclosures regarding the care homes."

Hilton Dawson said: "The coffin was a very graphic demonstration and hundreds turned out to the rally.

"I believe the meeting went well and the care home campaigners are excellent at their job. The main thing that came out of the meeting was that we need to keep open the channels of communication and ensure the campaigners are on the inside rather than outside at subsequent meetings.

"The big test will come when the council reveal their first set of results on the consultation at the end of this month, and whether they invite the campaigners to the first hearing."

When plans were unveiled in 1999 to close five homes in the county, a similar protest involved thousands of people, with some dressed as the Grim Reaper.