A PETITION to save Malcolm Sargent House (MSH) in Prestwick has gone viral gaining almost 10,000 signatures and reaching its target.

MSH is one of the few holiday homes of its kind, providing a service for children suffering from childhood cancer as well as holidays for young people and their families during and after treatment.

Siobhian Brown launched the petition last Tuesday after the 30 day consultation period to discuss the closure of the home was announced the day before.

She said: "I saw that MSH was closing on Facebook and I wanted to get support from from the local community to try and save it.

"It is not just people in Ayr and Prestwick that use the service but many come from all over the country to have a holiday.

"Some parents who have lost their child but used the facility while they were alive come back to scatter ashes in the gardens as the time they spent together was special.

"I think it is despicable that they want to close it down and build houses and ruin family memories. I am aware of how many people this home has helped not just locally but across Scotland.

"These proposals are breaking people's hearts. I want them to know we are not giving up without a fight."

The charity's director of services, Dara de Burca, said the holiday home was finding it "harder than ever" to raise the money needed to fund the work it does and said the plans were announced with "great sadness".

MSH also provide valuable specialist breaks including bereavement weeks, breaks for under fives, young people breaks and teen weeks and is one of the few holiday home in Scotland run by Clic Sargent, costing half a million pounds a year to run.

Ellen Finlayson Assistant Director of Services, CLIC Sargent Scotland said:

"These are tough times for many charities, and CLIC Sargent is no different; we are finding it harder than ever to raise the money we need to fund our vital work with young cancer patients and their families.

"It is with great sadness, therefore, that we are proposing to close CLIC Sargent’s holiday facility Malcolm Sargent House in Prestwick."

The 30 day consultation period ends in three weeks when the petition will be delivered to CLIC headquarters.

To sign the petition visit https://www.change.org/p/clic-save-malcolm-sargent-house-prestwick.