LIB Dem shadow health secretary Steve Webb has joined the party's local parliamentary candidate in the fight for a new Malvern hospital.

Richard Burt began the campaign to get Patricia Hewitt to allocate money for the new hospital after the Government announced cash is available for new community hospitals.

Mr Burt said: "The people of Malvern desperately need modern community healthcare facilities. I will be campaigning for urgent action to get the money together, so that work can start as soon as possible."

Mr Burt intends to personally deliver a letter and petition to the health secretary, saying that the test of her seriousness about new community facilities is whether or not plans for Malvern materialise.

Mr Webb said: "The Government should stop interfering and give local health chiefs the time they need to get on with planning the new community health facilities, which are so urgently needed. It's no good paying lip-service to the importance of community facilities, it's time the Government put its money where its mouth is."