LIBRARY campaigners from across Swindon joined forces for a fundraiser in Old Town on Saturday.

The event, run by the Save Swindon Libraries campaign group saw Los Gatos restaurant filled with local residents clamouring to show their support and sign their petition.

During the morning, visitors enjoyed churros and Spanish hot chocolate and showed solidarity with the campaign by adding their signatures to the petition.

The council is in the process of carrying out a public consultation on the library service in Swindon after it was decided to cut the budget by nearly 60 per cent over four years.

It is the plan that all libraries in Swindon, with the exception of the Central Library, will be run by volunteers, a move that has been met with strong opposition.

"It's wonderful to see this level of support" said Sarah Church, chairman of the steering group that organised the event.

"There must have been some hundreds of people in here during the whole course of the morning," she said.

Everyone wants to tell us how appalled they are at the prospect of losing the professional service we all enjoy and value."

Sarah also made an impassioned speech, thanking visitors and her team for their support and reiterating libraries are an essential service.

The day raised £500 which will go towards Save Swindon’s Libraries costs including hiring spaces for public meetings and printing flyers.

And Sarah vowed the group will continue the fight to keep library services intact.

"We're gearing up for the long haul," she said.

" This is a national issue and groups like ours are getting together all around the country to do what we're doing - fighting to keep the services that our communities rely on for access to learning, literature and local information, and so much more."

Save Swindon’s Libraries will be using the Easter break to reach out across the town community and its libraries.

On April 10, from 2pm, a public meeting will be held at Christ Church Community Centre with guest speakers including author Paul Cornell.