VOICES rang out in the evening night as part of a protest against maternity unit closures.

Angry parents and children met outside the Fryatt Hospital in Main Road, Dovercourt to call for their town's midwife-led unit to be reopened.

One of the organisers Jenny Semple said: "We stood outside the hospital with banners and candles and sang lullabys.

"The suppport we had from the public was fantastic."

The twilight vigil, last Friday, was the second organised protest since midwives from Harwich were moved to Colchester General Hospital due to staff shortages.

Health bosses maintain the closure of Harwich and Clacton units is temporary but campaigners have vowed to continue to fight the move, concerned it could become permenant.

A petition against the closure has collected more than 1,000 signatures and a protest rally last month also attracted more than 350 people.