Councillors in Ealing have voted to close respite centre Heller House despite a heartfelt rally from more than 50 campaigners who attended the verdict.

At an Ealing Council cabinet meeting on Tuesday (February 16) councillors voted in favour of closing the centre in Southall at the borough's Town Hall.

But they were met by more than 50 campaigners, including parents who have used the home, who made heartfelt pleas to keep the home open.

A tearful Jacqueline Swords, whose autistic son Ciaran, 17, suffers from severe learning disabilities and uses the home, was invited to speak and urged the council to keep the home open.

She said: "It (the closure) will have ramifications for years to come that will be ireversible.

"It fills me with fear, I'm not only concerned for current children but for the future children. Children form rigid attachments.

"Out-of-borough spot provision is a commercial enterprise and they will prioritise their own children - which we should be doing in Ealing."

She also accused the council of "trivialising" the concerns of parents at the home.

The residential home provides a short break for young people in the borough with complex disabilities.

Councillor Binda Rai argued the closure should go ahead because the centre, which was deemed inadequate by Ofsted in 2015, was "unsafe" to continue.

She congratulated staff after it had been given a "Good" rating last month but maintained her recommendation for it to be closed.

It is claimed by the council that the Victorian building, on Norwood Road, is not fit for purpose and requires "significant capital expenditure to maintain minimum physical standards."

Councillor Rai also argued that need for the house dropped from 42 families in 2010 to 16 in 2014 before dropping to its current figure of nine - figures rigorously disputed by campaigners.

She said: "The needs of the children have to be seen in a wider context.

"Their needs cannot be met by Heller House."

She added that the council are considering a "dedicated transition service" for users of the home in the borough of Ealing.

Under recommendations, children will be given care using "spot purchases" whereby contracts are given to providers "best placed to meet the persons needs and provide the appropriate service."

Councillors favoured this system over the option of redeveloping and refurbishing Heller House.

The council said they will review the possibility of re-opening the centre in future, and will consider campaigners' suggestion of using a private developer to build a new centre in exchange for a portion of the site.

The closure falls under Ealing Council 's Budget Strategy 2015/16 to 2018/2019, which sets out to reduce revenue expenditure by £96million for this period.

Conservative Councillor Joy Morrissey, who spoke at the meeting, said: "I am outraged by the council's decision to close Hellar House.

"Respite care must be local and could easily remain so, instead Labour has decided to take the most brutal and simplistic option."

Ealing resident Siobhan Bryar, who led the petition to keep Heller House open, said campaigners will now consider judicial review.