A "die in" protest against the closure of the St Andrew's mental health ward in Wells is being held on the Cathedral Green on Saturday (December 12).

This will be a static protest at 3pm to highlight the potential consequences of mental health cuts, and the demonstration is expected to last about an hour.

The protest is intending to emphasise the place that St Andrew's Ward plays in the framework of mental health services as a whole and protesters will be saying that more people will die if the ward is closed.

Organiser Emma King said: "We will be holding a 'die in' to emphasise suicide, to try and bring home the impact of suicide and to show respect to the memories of those who have died.

"We encourage everyone to bring their placards about the ward and a candle in a jar. We will sing Amazing Grace and a number of people will lie down as if dead at the end of the demo and all the candles will be blown out to represent the lives lost."

The decision by the Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group to close the ward follows a two and a half-year period of consultation with staff, patients, carers and colleagues in the voluntary sector and people with an interest in mental health to co-create a new model of mental health care for Somerset.

Together stakeholders developed a proposal to relocate 14 adult mental health beds from Wells to Yeovil.

A petition against the closure has been signed by more than 1,300 people - you can view it here.