MALTON'S mayor, Coun Jane Ford, is to head a delegation to Westminster later this month, in the hope of winning a rethink on the future of the maternity unit at the town's hospital.

Coun Ford will be joining County Councillor John Blackie, chairman of North Yorkshire County Council's health scrutiny committee, together with campaigners pressing to keep the maternity units open at both Whitby and Bridlington hospitals.

"We are hoping to meet the secretary of state for health, Alan Johnson, to underline the importance of retaining the maternity unit, " said Coun Ford.