Parliament will face the wrath of people power today as a petition against the axing of live-in wardens at sheltered housing in Somerset is presented to the Government.

More than 3,000 signatures from Sedgemoor residents have been collected by campaigners against Labour's decision to slash the local authority funding set aside for full-time, on-site wardens that can be on the scene of an emergency in seconds.

Elderly and vulnerable people in the district were alarmed last month when Sedgemoor District Council announced it would be reviewing the provision of wardens at 31 supported housing schemes from North Petherton to Cheddar.

The wardens live on site and provide round-the-clock care for residents – a service that protesters against the cuts have said is vital for the safety and well-being of the elderly.

West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger has helping to gather the signatures and will hand them over to Ministers at 7.30pm tonight.

He said: "The problem is that the Government cutting its funding to Somerset County Council for warden schemes which in turn means the money being given to district councils is also being cut back.

"I'm urging Government to rethink its policy. People in Bridgwater and across Sedgemoor feel very strongly about this and are concerned about the future of wardens in their area and the impact it will have if they are taken away.

"This is just not on. It's very easy to get rid of wardens and say that it won't affect the care, but it's incredibly unfair on the elderly people who rely on the service."

Sedgemoor campaigner Maria Hobbs has co-ordinated the petition and hopes Westminster will sit up and listen.

She said: "While campaigning I've heard many stories from nurses, social service workers, carers and residents.

"So many people are unhappy and don't understand why it's happening."

The changes are a result of cuts in the Government's Supporting People grant to Somerset County Council, which funds district council care services.

In September, Homes In Sedgemoor, the organisation that runs sheltered housing on behalf of the district council, said it would be reviewing the role of 24-hour wardens at nine sites across the district.

But earlier this month, wardens were told they can retain their homes if they agree to work from a central site.

The new system will be in place by next April and also aims to offer home and emergency visits to more elderly people instead of just those on sheltered housing estates. The amount of support offered for living in the community will change from the April deadline.

High-level services will be five visits a week, plus occasional extra visits. Medium-level services will be three visits a week and two intercom calls a week. Low-level services, which do not include visits and intercom calls, remain the same.

Mr Liddell-Grainger said: "At the moment, we don't know what the long term future is for live-in wardens but we want it to be secured."

A total of 934 elderly and vulnerable people currently reside in sheltered accommodation in Sedgemoor. With the restructure, each resident will have to rely on an emergency cord or pendant system that, if activated, will alert the 24-hour customer care line at Sedgemoor District Council's headquarters.

Taunton Deane, Bath and North East Somerset and North Somerset councils have already scrapped residential wardens.