Elderly patients fear having to travel miles to their nearest doctor's surgery - if their local practice is axed.

Opposition is mounting to the threatened closure of Addingham's only surgery, in the wake of new Government rules on single-practitioner surgeries to be introduced by 2004. Patients are signing a petition opposing the possible closure of the surgery, run by Dr Eugene Raubitschek in Main Street.

Christine Forrest, of Moor Lane, said she was concerned about the effect it would have on her father, who lives in School Lane.

"He is in his 80s and can't get out," she said. "He would be very concerned if the practice closed. There are many elderly people in Addingham like him who rely on the surgery."

Kathleen Parker, from Bradford, visits her 87-year-old mother Mary Cawthra at her home in Park Crescent. "I collect her prescription at the surgery and I can visit my mother every day before I start work nearby," she said.

"If I had to go further afield it would be very difficult for me and upsetting for my mother."

Dr Raubitschek has run the surgery for 24 years. He is urging patients to sign the petition, which is being co-ordinated by the Small Practice Association, a nationwide organisation.

The Government is hoping to phase out single-practitioner surgeries. It believes they become insular and out of touch with medical advancements.

Dr Raubitschek fears that if the practice is not amalgamated with other surgeries in nearby towns, it could close.

He said: "I'm a trainer and examiner and sit on committees. I also do two sessions in hospitals. Therefore, my contact with doctors is continuous."

He is also worried that the personal touch of the traditional family doctor would be lost. "Village life is different from cities," he said. "Single-handed practices are quite amenable to village life, where we know everybody and there is total continuity."

Chairman of Addingham Parish Council Councillor Alan Jerome said the closure would be a disaster.

"For a village with probably more older people per head of population than most other villages, it is an essential need," he said.