WEST Somerset Labour members made their voices heard at an NHS demonstration in London.

According the Metropolitan Police, more than 250,000 people through the capital to Westminster to protest about cuts to the NHS.

The march started from outside the headquarters of Virgin Care, in Tavistock Square.

The company, owned by businessman Richard Branson, already holds more than 200 private contracts to run NHS services in Somerset.

The march ended in a rally in Parliament Square where the massed crowds heard from doctors, nurses, union leaders and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

A spokesman for the West Somerset Labour Party said: "The National Health Service was created in 1948 to care for us all. Now we must all make a stand and care for it.

"We have made the journey to London as we are passionate about keeping our NHS as a free and comprehensive service for everyone.

"A National Health Service is pivotal to a civilised society and ours is the envy of the world".

West Somerset has seen the effects as the government looks to find savings in the health care system, with stroke beds at Williton Hospital being cut from 12 to six, and Minehead Hospital beds temporarily closed due to staff shortages.