An eight-year-old girl has written to the Queen to help save the West Cumberland Hospital's maternity services.

Molly-Mae Walker had been reading about health stories in the news as her mum, Kimberly, is 20 weeks pregnant.

After Kimberly was recently taken into the WCH, a worried Molly-Mae, of Hugh Street, Whitehaven, decided to call on Her Majesty for help.

Kimberly said: "She was concerned what would happened if I had to travel to Carlisle for treatment.

"She then went onto Google, found the address for Buckingham Palace –although she was also looking for its phone number! – and wrote a letter to the Queen.

"She asked for a stamp and posted it off.''

Over the following few weeks, Molly-Mae waited excitedly for a reply.

"She was asking every day if there was any post, and on the very day she didn't ask, it arrived! She was absolutely ecstatic,'' Kimberly said. "I was impressed with how quickly they got back to us.''

The letter said it would be passing on Molly-Mae's comments to the Secretary of State for Health and thanked her for writing.

Kimberly said: "I am extremely proud of Molly-Mae, she is a very clever girl.''

Molly-Mae's brother, five-year-old Bobby, has also had to go to the Cumberland Infirmary for treatment.

Kimberly said: "It doesn't make any sense having to travel to Carlisle. It will make it so much difficult for families.

"So many things can go wrong with a pregnancy, we should have full facilities at Whitehaven.''

The Success Regime is proposing changes to the current 24-hour consultant-led maternity unit at the West Cumberland Hospital and to children's services.