Campaigners fighting the closure of the Grays NHS walk-in centre handed in a 2,400-strong petition to MP Jackie Doyle-Price yesterday.

The petition, with 2,400 signatures from Thurrock residents, called on the MP to protect the Grays walk-in centre and protect the NHS from "irreversible privatisation".

The petition asks the MP take action by pressuring David Cameron into vetoing the US trade deal TTIP .

Residents also expressed anger with the MP for not attending their protest at the walk-in centre on Friday June 12 to collect the petition.

A spokesman for Peoples' NHS, the campaign group, said: "Jackie Doyle-Price has ignored her constituents. Earlier in the year hundreds of Thurrock residents raised “Stop the NHS Sale” estate agency style boards to show their clear opposition to the NHS being included in the EU-US trade deal called TTIP."

"TTIP threatens to lead to the irreversible privatisation of the NHS. It is the largest bilateral trade deal ever negotiated and threatens to make privatisation of the NHS irreversible by giving the profits of corporations’ precedence over national lawmakers.

"TTIP would grant American multinationals, or any firm with American investors, the power to sue the government if it ever attempted to take privatised health services back into public ownership.

"It is also a trade deal being negotiated behind the closed doors."

Local campaigner Ella Vine said: ''We had a fantastic support for this campaign. The overwhelming majority of people we spoke to strongly oppose further privatisation of the NHS and urge the government to take NHS out of the TTIP.

"We call Jackie Doyle-Price MP to listen to the voices of thousands of her constituents and to take a firm action on it.

"Since becoming the government's Whip, Ms Doyle-Price has become a part of the government responsible for its decisions and we hope that the wishes of Thurrock residents will be respected."