WORRIED Dorset parents fear a financial crisis at a charity could mean the end of lifelong support for their disabled children.

The cerebral palsy organisation, Scope, one of the biggest in the UK, has seen income from its charity shops plummet in recent years - the funding crisis means there is £4 million less available to provide vital services.

Scope is being forced to make major cuts and 80 jobs are likely to go nationwide. The changes could affect hundreds of people with cerebral palsy in Dorset - one in 400 people have the condition.

A restructuring of services means that support will now be targeted at several key areas, including youngsters who have been newly diagnosed and people in 'crisis situations'.

Support services will also become less local, as county field workers are axed and replaced by five regional teams. Dorset is likely to become part of an area covering the whole of the south of England.

Concerned mum Stephanie Page-Smith lives in Chickerell with her daughter Megan, 15, who has cerebral palsy. Megan, a pupil at All Saints School in Wyke Regis, has difficulty with her balance and co-ordination and needs to use a wheelchair.

Mrs Page-Smith said: "Scope used to provide services from the cradle to the grave. It now looks as if help will only be available for children who have been newly diagnosed and for crisis situations, but there is a lot of confusion and no one is quite sure what is happening.

"I am worried about the future and that the support won't be there. Scope has been very helpful in the past - it was only with its support that we got Megan into a mainstream school and the education she needed."

Mrs Page-Smith, who is married to heating engineer Harry and has another daughter, Katie, 17, added: "We are isolated in this area because it is rural and I am worried that support won't be available locally. Parents are dumbfounded by these changes - they don't know where to turn."

A spokeswoman for Scope said: "We rely on our charity shops for a lot of our income. They are suffering at the moment - people are not buying like they used to and this has made a big impact on our income. As a result we are reassessing our priorities and some difficult decisions have been made."