Hundreds of people have attended a public meeting this afternoon to quiz health bosses on controversial proposals to strip services from the West Cumberland Hospital.

The heated debate saw members of the public, along with members of current and former staff from the Whitehaven hospital, question the panel which included bosses from the Success Regime which has put forward the raft of proposals.

A group of protestors, dressed as "corpses" in black and with painted faces, gathered at the entrance of the United Reformed Church in Whitehaven.

And when members of the panel – including Stephen Eames, the chief executive of North Cumbria Hospitals – turned up, they were forced to step over the protestors.

Ben Sloan, who organised the protest, said: "I wanted to make more of an impact. I've been a bit of an armchair supporter and it's about time I stepped in and made my voice heard."

Siobhan Gearing, from the We Need West Cumberland Hospital campaign group, added: "We needed to show them that this is what they are going to do to the people of West Cumbria if they follow through with their plans."

One of the main concerns in the meeting, which saw around 200 people attend, was the threatened consultant-led maternity unit which could be downgraded to a midwife-led service.

The panel insisted that the option was not part of a cost-cutting exercise, but due to the fact that it could not employ consultants to deliver a 24-hour service.

Other concerns were around transport, the possible relocation of the stroke unit to Carlisle and the removal of the special care baby unit.