THE Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, has challenged Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the ambulance station closure in Oswestry.

Mr Davey has accused the Prime Minister of neglecting rural communities.

His comments come following the closure of Oswestry ambulance stations and as reports shown that long waiting times at A&E meant an extra 160,000 were left waiting for care.

Liberal Democrat candidate for North Shropshire, Helen Morgan, said the government needed "a wake-up call".

She said: "We need a local candidate to champion our local health services, I will be that voice.

"Families across our area are rightly worried about closures of ambulance services and we're taking this to the very top and raising it with the Prime Minister.

"For too long North Shropshire has been taken for granted, ambulance stations have closed, GPs are under immense pressure and A&E wait times are getting out of hand.

"We must give the Government a wake-up call. This by-election won't change the Government, but we can send them a message they can't ignore."

Meanwhile, Mr Davey MP, who visited Oswestry last week, added: "At this election, local people have a chance to send a message to this Conservative Government.

"They can support Helen and the local Liberal Democrats who are standing up for our health services or back an unknown Conservative lawyer from Birmingham who has no grasp of the health issues Shropshire faces."