In an unprecedented move, doctors marched through the town centre on Saturday and were joined by a healthy show of public support.

They are concerned over the government's plans for 'Polyclinics' - which could see large companies take over the running of surgeries and abolish the traditional GP/patient relationship.

During the protest, a petition signed by 6,300 people supporting the doctors' views was presented to Rugby MP Jeremy Wright.

One of the protestors, Dr. Lesli Davies, of Clifton Road surgery, said: "It went really well and I would like to thank everyone who turned up to support us.

"Our plan is to get as many signatures as possible on the petition and then hand deliver it to Number 10. We feel very strongly about this - it could be our jobs at stake and I also believe patients will suffer if Polyclinics get the go-ahead."

Polyclinics have been proposed by Lord Darzi, a non-elected health minister, who wants to see clinics run by specialists.

The system is currently adopted in America and sees patients deciding what is wrong with them before making an appointment with an appropriate specialist.

But Dr. Simon Drakeley, also of Clifton Road surgery, said: "You need someone to look at the whole person and not just individual illnesses in isolation.

"That fantastic relationship between a patient and their GP is good for the individual and the health of the economy as a whole."

Dr. Davies added: "We are supposed to be able to give feedback on Lord Darzi's report on a website.

"But the site is always inactive which makes me suspicious that they (the government) are not interested in our concerns but can claim we were consulted."