CLOSING Cirencester Hospital’s Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) overnight is a necessary evil as the Cotswolds responds to pinched budgets, the local MP has said.

Conservative Geoffrey Clifton-Brown backed controversial plans to close the unit on the grounds it is “not cost effective”.

The county’s seven MIU’s are being overhauled by Gloucestershire Care Services NHS in a bid to save money and bring them in line with national standards.

Patients have been offered three options for the future of Cirencester’s MIU – but none involve keeping it open overnight.

Bosses say Stroud and Cirencester MIUs combined see an average of 4.5 patients each night between 11pm and 8am, but a source from inside the hospital said sometimes more than a dozen people could turn up.

“I think in this day and age where every pound is precious we have to see where we can get the best bang for our back, and there are very few people who use the MIU overnight,” said Mr Clifton-Brown.

“And, I’m afraid, many of the people who do use it should go to A&E in Gloucester.

“It is sad to lose it, like it is sad to lose and service, but it just isn’t cost effective."

There was uproar in Cirencester last week when the Standard broke the news the MIU could close.

Many expressed concerns the town would be losing the unit just as it was set for its biggest expansion in generations, with estimates the population could balloon by up to a third over the next 20 years.

But Mr Clifton-Brown sought to allay fears: “It’s not going to grow by 30 per cent for a number of years, so it would not be worth keeping it open until it’s cost effective.”

Cirencester councillor Joe Harris launched a petition to save the unit from overnight closures and was shocked when hundreds of signatures tumbled in.

The total now stands at more than 1,000 signatures.

One recent signer, Michael Thorne, said: “When I lived in Down Ampney this hospital supported me through various accidents and injuries as a child. It’s a lifeline to all the local villages surrounding Cirencester. Please keep it going.”

Bridget Day wrote: “With all the new homes built and others proposed, plus student accommodation, we shall be another Swindon before long."

To sign the petition go to http://bit.ly/2a8AlR6.