THE people of Barrow have always been willing to use protests to change society and make the voice of the people known.

In 1998, local outrage spread after a decision was passed to raise the cost of parking for NHS staff members.

A long-standing issue and source of frustration for the community, the Barrow health bosses were faced with protests after an increase was announced.

The Mail: ANGRY: There was anger over parking fees which would start at 50p for four hours, or 70p for eight hoursANGRY: There was anger over parking fees which would start at 50p for four hours, or 70p for eight hours

More than 100 members of staff from Furness General Hospital joined a protest against the car parking charges that year.

Members of the movement said that the plans would mean they would have to pay to go to work.

The protest came as a last-ditch effort to persuade hospital bosses to withdraw the charges for staff, who were being asked to pay £26 a year for parking passes.

The Mail: PROTEST: Staff protesting at Furness General over planned car park charges in 1998PROTEST: Staff protesting at Furness General over planned car park charges in 1998

A ballot of the hospital workers showed that 97 per cent had objected to the new charges.

The charges for staff and visitors would pay for security guards and CCTV in car parks and leave a £15,000 surplus.

The Mail: PROTESTING: Mary Irwin (left) rolls out the protest banner to greet Margaret Thatcher at Furness General Hospital in 1986PROTESTING: Mary Irwin (left) rolls out the protest banner to greet Margaret Thatcher at Furness General Hospital in 1986

Opponents of the charges stated that the plans would hit badly paid workers, especially as public transport links to Barrow hospital are poor and practically non-existent at night.

Jimmy Herron, from the largest health union Unison, was firmly against the proposals and was a driving force behind the protests.

The Mail: SIGN: No to Charges say NHS staff SIGN: No to Charges say NHS staff

He said: “A lot of people are objecting to the charges on principle.

“I can afford the £26 but I won’t pay the trust because there are a lot of people here who can't afford it."

He added that parking charges were justifiable in city centre hospitals where shoppers took up parking places but that the only people who ever parked a FGH were staff, patients, and visitors.

The Mail: TAXED: The protest at Furness General over planned car park charges in 1998TAXED: The protest at Furness General over planned car park charges in 1998

"Hospital bosses have made concessions on the parking charges for disabled drivers but still plan to charge part-time workers and students.

"A number of employees at the hospital have refused to sign forms allowing the trust to take the parking charges out of their wages."