The parent of a child who received care at Nascot Lawn visited Downing Street to deliver a petition against cuts to respite care services.

Nikki Lancaster, mum to Lennon who sadly died in August last year, has been part of a battle to save the centre for disabled children, in Langley Road, Watford, for nearly a year.

Families recently won a judicial review in February that Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group (HVCCG) should have consulted with Hertfordshire County Council regarding their plans to stop the £650,000 of funding for Nascot Lawn.

Ms Lancaster has now teamed up with The Disabled Children’s Partnership and on Friday helped hand in their petition with 3,780 signatures calling on the Government to review the funding and availability of short breaks.

She said: “I have been part of a group of parents fighting the closure of Nascot Lawn respite care centre in Hertfordshire for almost a year. My son Lennon spent many happy times at Nascot Lawn, being cared for with incredible expertise.

“Centres like Nascot allow families a short break so we can look after our children the best we can when they are at home.

“The devastation to children and families caused by closures of short breaks services cannot be overstated. That’s why we are urging the government to step in to save them.”

Stephen Kingdom, campaign manager of the Disabled Children’s Partnership, added that parents of critically ill children should not have to take drastic measures to prevent short breaks services being threatened with closure.

He said: “It should not take parents fighting in the courts to keep short breaks services going. Short breaks are essential to help families with disabled children continue to care for them at home.

“It's unforgivable that these essential services are under threat across the country. Thousands of parents have joined together to sign this petition to say enough is enough, we need the government to step in to save short breaks services.”