A Conservative-controlled local council is calling on the chief executive and chair of Lincolnshire health authority to resign following a ballot over the closure of paediatric and maternity services at Grantham and District Hospital.

South Kevesten district council had asked voters: 'In view of the unsafe standards of services being provided by the local hospital for mothers and children, should the chairman and chief executive of Lincolnshire Health resign?'

Almost 99 per cent of those polled supported the motion, but the election turnout was just 22 per cent.

The referendum was prompted by local concerns over the death of 23month-old Tyler Foster, after a 60mile ambulance journey in search of an intensive care bed. Children and maternity services in Grantham were closed in 1998 when the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health threatened to withdraw accreditation for training.

Four weeks ago, the council passed a vote of no confidence in the HA and called for 'top-level resignations'.

On Tuesday, coincidentally the day before he finished his tenure as a non-executive of Grantham and District Hospital trust, councillor John Hurst pinned the results of the ballot to Lincolnshire HA's door.

He said the ballot would show the HA that 'we are not paper tigers'.

In a statement, the HA said 'no ballot was necessary to convince us of what the hospital means to local people', but that 'there simply are not enough cases coming to Grantham to ensure that doctors can maintain and improve their skills'.