Furious protestors have forced health bosses to abandon a public meeting into stroke services.

The decision on where the three hyper acute stroke units will be is expected to be made today, but in secret.

A consultation was launched last February as part of a £40million shake up of the service.

Five options were presented and in September the preferred options were revealed.

A meeting between the county's Clinical Commissioning Group had to be adjourned after disruption from campaigners.

Chairman Mike Gill said: “If you cannot be quiet while we have this discussion we will have to adjourn the meeting and have this discussion in private.

“I think it better for us to have the meeting in public, so I will continue but if there is still more… are you going to be quiet?

“Is that the view of you all that you don’t want to listen to the discussion? Okay, I’m taking the exceptional decision to adjourn the meeting.”

There has been fierce opposition from communities in Thanet and Medway, with the laters council preparing to take the decision to go to judicial review.

Before today's meeting protestors gathered outside the Hilton Hotel in Maidstone voicing their concerns.

HASUs are designed to have expert care in three units across the county to treat patients in the first 72 hours after a stroke.

The new units will be open 24/7 and give patients access to specialist treatment.

More to come.