HUNDREDS of people burdened with debt could be stranded without support as the advice centre helping them slips into financial crisis itself.

Shaftesbury Advice Centre currently has 500 clients on its books - the majority have problems with benefits or anxieties about debt and many have mental health problems.

For the past seven years the centre has been filling the void left by the closure of the Citizens' Advice Bureau, but news that the Lottery has withdrawn its annual £10,000 funding means it could close by the end of the summer.

Project Manager Carla Santagostino said: "I was devastated when I heard we'd lost the funding because I will lose my job. But what keeps coming back to me is the impact it will have on our clients. People can't get to other areas if they're on low income. When the CAB closed they felt they were being deserted. We would be abandoning a lot of people who really rely on us.

"Some people come to us from outside areas because there is more anonymity and they're less likely to see someone they know."

The centre at Toby's Court works closely with Toby's Young People Project as well as Age Concern and costs around £30,000 a year to run.

Staff there have close links with Signpost Housing and the mental health team and even represent clients at tribunals in the county court.

It currently receives £500 per annum from the Town Council and £3,000 from North Dorset District Council.

MP Bob Walter is helping the centre seek funding from elsewhere, including a second application to the Lottery for a lower grant in the hope it can be saved for the foreseeable future. He said: "This is one of the most cost effective services in the area - about the same as just one full-time social worker."

First published: May 26