Parents were meeting Oxfordshire MPs at Westminster on Wednesday, 22 May, in a bid to save three respite centres for disabled children.

The Summerfield Centre in Abingdon, Sycamore House in Banbury, and the Chilterns Centre in Henley are threatened with closure because the county council is ending a £500,000 grant to Barnardo's as part of £9m cuts in social services. The charity says it cannot afford to run the homes without the grant.

The move is subject to consultation, but parents have already received a letter from the council informing them that the centres are likely to close. About 100 children with severe physical and learning disabilities use the centres.

Colin Webster, a spokesman for parents' group FORCe (Friends of Resource Centres), was invited to meet the county's MPs by Tony Baldry, Conservative MP for Banbury.

The Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, Dr Evan Harris, was due to be at the meeting, along with Tories Boris Johnson (Henley), David Cameron (Witney) and Robert Jackson (Wantage).

Mr Webster said: "The MPs have been very supportive and we welcome the opportunity to discuss the matter further."