Thousands march to save hospital

Keith Richards and co marched through the streets from Chichester College to Priory Park where more than 10,000 people gathered.

A rallying cry of speeches, passionate crowd support and a sea of pink balloons filled Priory Park.

Richards was at the forefront of the march halfway through grabbing Margaret Brown, the Mayor's wife, to join him.

He posed for pictures, told a photographer to tie up his shoe laces and even stopped for a cigarette outside the cathedral.

The 63 year-old said: "We have all got other things to do on a Saturday, the fact that we are all here doing this is amazing.

"I have used St Richard's a couple of times myself. Why are we talking about down-grading things? We should be talking about upgrading things."

His wife Patti Richards said their daughter had flown in this morning and was also at the march supporting the cause.

She said: "I'm just really happy that my family is all here to support it."

Other celebrities and councillors joined in the march which grew in numbers as it passed through the streets, which were lined with people cheering them on.

Actress Patricia Routledge also spoke at Priory Park urging the public to have one last push to send their letters to the primary care trust before the deadline in two weeks time.

Actor Christopher Timothy said: "I just hope there are enough people here to make a difference to stop the closure.

"The people who know much more about it than we do all say it is a very fine hospital."

Co-chairman of the support St Richard's campaign and consultant at the hospital Marjory Greig said: "The amount of people here is absolutely fantastic. It just goes to show how many people really support St Richard's.

"We are going to let the PCT know how many people support St Richard's Hospital."

The march left the college at 11am with Richards joining the front from a black car surrounded by bodyguards.

With a full samba band adding to the atmosphere it far outweighed the first march which saw a meagre 5,000 in comparison.

It arrived in Priory Park at around 12 noon, where Duncan Barkes from Spirit FM greeted the campaigners.

Once everybody had arrived the speeches were broadcast live across West Sussex, with the chant of the day, "Save St Richard's, no closure" booming around the park.

For a more in-depth report on the day buy the Observer this Thursday.

There will also be a full length video on the website on Thursday.