The village library, on Townfield Road, had been under threat as part of drastic budget cuts being drawn up by Cheshire County Council.

But, after a flood of objections, the council has decided not to axe the service.

Barnton's county councillor Scott Marsh said: "There has been a tremendous response from the people of Barnton.

"I received about 500 letters, calls or faxes and a petition of about 600 people was gathered to fight for the library. People power has saved the day.

"It is magnificent news. Now they must keep using it more and more and hopefully we can be looking at getting longer opening hours for the library instead."

The villagers' campaign was first highlighted in the Guardian a month ago.

Barnton librarian Pat Pether said: "We are just ecstatic. But we have been hopeful all along because of the great support of the people."

Barnton parish councillor Olive Golding added: "It would have been a catastrophe if the library had closed.

"I used to work at Barnton Junior School which used the library for workshops. The children do their homework there.

"It just couldn't have closed at a time when children are being encouraged to read more.

"And it's not just a library, it's an information centre and people use it as a place to meet. The village used to have a swimming pool and a bank which have closed. We hardly have any facilities left."

But concern for the future of local amenities has not gone away.

Local government re-organisation has left Cheshire with a £16 million budget shortfall. A spokesman for the council said: "We have various options and a lot of hard decisions ahead."

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