Fears about fire safety in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster have resulted in a further loss of beds at a North Wales Hospital.

After the disaster in London last June, all public bodies carried out fire safety checks at their sites

Betsi Cadwalaldr University Health Board shut 10 beds at Denbigh Hospital last year and on Friday confirmed the closure of a further seven.

A review found the wooden structure inside the building, which is more than 200 years old, was cause for concern.

A fire safety report said the remaining seven beds on Lleweni ward had to be closed from Friday.

The closures bring the total number of beds in use down from 40 to 23.

Plaid Cymru politicians have handed in a 320-name petition calling for Betsi Cadwaladr health board to re-open beds in the town to meet local demand.

They have called for an urgent meeting with the health board to explain their future strategy for community beds in the town.

Upper Denbigh and Henllan, county councillor, Glenn Swingler, said: “It’s another seven beds lost and we must keep the pressure on the board to get them to bring the beds back as soon as possible and not downgrade the hospital.”

His fellow Denbigh county councillor Rhys Thomas said: “As Plaid Cymru councillors in Denbigh and the surrounding area we recognise the need for safety and that fire precautions in Denbigh Hospital but we need to know what is Plan B if these wards are not suitable to be used in the future.

“We have put forward suggestions in our last letter to the health board, one being that these wards are used as day-use only for physiotherapy rehab and that the present physiotherapy department is converted into a ward with five or six beds.”

A statement from the health board said: “Since the closure of the ten beds in December, we have had, on average, one less bed available for patients to use per day across our sites in Denbigh and Ruthin.

“This has been achieved through the provision of additional beds in Ruthin and greater focus on the management of bed capacity.

 “We are committed to providing care as close to home as possible for our communities and Denbigh Hospital remains an important part of our plans to do that.

“Other services on the site, including the remaining 23 inpatient beds, x-ray, minor injuries service, outpatient department, IV therapy suite, physiotherapy outpatients and phlebotomy are unaffected by the outcome of this review.”