AN EIGHT-year-old girl who wrote a heartfelt letter to the Prime Minister describing how she and her mum almost lost their lives during her birth has still not had a reply.

It is almost two months since Kaitlin Cunningham-Gearing penned her own letter to Theresa May pleading with her to step in to save consultant-led maternity services.

To date she has not had a reply, despite the Prime Minister finding time to respond to Copeland MP Jamie Reed.

In that letter Mrs May claimed that there is a general consensus among clinicians that consultant-led maternity services at the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven are unsustainable.

This is despite local hospital staff, including obstetricians and midwives, stating publicly that the service is vital.

After hearing this, Kaitlin, who lives in Whitehaven, has now written to the Prime Minister for a second time, this time by email - again urging her to visit the area and meet those affected.

The Success Regime is currently consulting on controversial reforms that would see urgent services, including maternity, downgraded and many west Cumbrians forced to travel 40 miles for care.

The plans have attracted huge opposition, with more than 2,000 people to date backing the News & Star Save Our Services campaign.

Kaitlin's mum Siobhan Gearing founded the We Need West Cumberland Hospital protest group. It was largley her birth, in which they both nearly lost their lives, that has spurred her on to keep fighting.

Earlier this week Kaitlin was among a group of protesters who dressed as corpses and lay outside the entrance of the Success Regime's public meeting in Whitehaven to symbolise the lives that will be lost if women and babies are forced to travel to Carlisle.

Following the meeting, and after hearing that the Prime Minister was so far refusing to help, she sent her second message.

In it she writes: "Dear Prime Minister May, I am Kaitlin, an eight-year-old girl who has campaigned from the beginning with my mam to save West Cumberland Hospital. I recently wrote to you and was upset when I did not get a letter back from you.

"Dr Eldred at West Cumberland Hospital saved my life when my cord wrapped around my neck, almost stopping my breathing, and he saved my mam's life when she has to have a blood transfusion.

"I am happy we were saved but please don't let them put women, babies, children and old people at risk. I am scared that people will die. Please come and visit our hospital and please answer my email because I have waited a long time for a letter."

Mrs Gearing, who has written her own letters to the Prime Minister, said she hopes her daughter finally gets a response.

"As Kaitlin's mum I am outraged that she did not even get a standard reply from Theresa May or her office.

"Kaitlin decided to send an email as a second attempt to get an answer and hopefully make Mrs May see how these ridiculous changes are affecting our children too," she said.

Mrs May's office has sent a reply to fellow campaigner Annette Robson, in which it states that the Prime Minister's diary is too busy to allow her to visit the West Cumberland Hospital.

It adds: "The Government appreciates there is local concern about the future of services. However this is a letter for local determination and no decisions have been made."

The We Need West Cumberland Hospital group say they will now take their fight to Westminster if that's what it takes. Retired consultant Mahesh Dhebar is urging people across the area to follow Kaitlin's lead and bombard the Prime Minister's office with letters and emails.

To join the fight against health cuts sign our Save Our Services petition here or download a paper copy here and collect some signatures.