A CAMPAIGNING parent has threatened legal action if dozens of children's centres are approved for closure.

The bitter fight to protect Sure Start in Hampshire is expected to deepen if the county council goes through with plans to shut 43 sites.

A decision is due tomorrow and follows months of protests and petitions.

Lead campaigner Catherine Ovenden said she would consider a crowdfunded judicial review if the £8.5 million cutbacks go through.

She said: "Local communities will be left without a centre and staff will lose their jobs, which means that vital trusting relationships between families and staff will be lost."

Hampshire County Council is centralising child support services for the most needy at 11 district hubs, closing the remaining 43 centres.

Officials have identified more than 100 "potential venues" to provide less urgent support closer to home.

But the closures would cut the service's workforce by 60 per cent, or 145 full time equivalent jobs.

Protesters have campaigned for months against the planned closures, with thousands taking to the streets of Winchester in May to voice their anger.

Their main concern is that early problems won't be spotted and could escalate if professionals aren't available for those with lesser needs.

If the plans are approved, Ms Ovenden and fellow campaigners will take legal advice on how to challenge it and ask supporters to help fund their costs.

She said: "I'm very worried that the consultation was simply a paper exercise and that the voices of our parents and experts have not been heard."

Drop-in services would be cut entirely and there would be an emphasis on home visits and telephone calls for support instead of attending group sessions with fellow parents and talking with volunteers.

The Family Support Service would also see some groups come with a charge of up to £9 per session as opposed to 50p or even free meetings.

The 43 buildings would be returned primarily to schools and other childcare providers, with some being handed back to the library service.

More than 2,000 people responded to a consultation earlier this year, with 68 per cent opposing the programme and a quarter in favour.

When asked about plans to close centres, 83 per cent disapproved, with poorer families more likely to voice concerns.

Cllr Keith Mans, the council's executive lead member for children’s services, will reveal the fate of the 43 centres at a meeting in the council's Winchester headquarters.

He said: “I am unable to comment in any detail ahead of my decision day other than to assure you that I will be considering, very carefully, the proposals together with the feedback from our consultation and other correspondence received before making my decision on whether we should take forward the development of a new Family Support Service.”