Campaigners hoping to secure the future of a Newton Abbot psychiatric hospital have been granted a meeting with health service top brass.

Devon Partnership NHS Trust is considering the future of the 16-bed Brunel Lodge, Totnes Road, saying it costs money that might be better spent on community services.

The unit is the last of its kind in south Devon and doing away with it would mean dementia sufferers needing inpatient NHS care would have to travel to Exeter or Tiverton.

The Newton Abbot Forum of the Senior Council of Devon has said closure would deliver a blow to elderly people and their families when at their most vulnerable.

District councillors have also called on the trust to think long and hard about axing a service they described as 'vital'.

FULL STORY IN OUR ONLINE EDITION