A FUNDING crisis at Okehampton's Citizens' Advice Bureau has put a threat over its long-term future.

The bureau, which has been helping all sectors of the community for 20 years, has had to lay off the deputy manager and reduce opening hours because of cash problems.

Manager Barbara Osborne said there was a shortfall in funding of £3,000 per year and all the charity's capital reserves had been used up employing a much-needed extra member of staff for four years.

'The only way we could continue providing the current level of service to the end of this year was by laying off the deputy,' she said. 'We do appreciate the funds given to us by Devon County Council and West Devon Borough Council but we just cannot survive on it.

'There is now a definite chance we will not be able to keep going as we are — the situation is serious but we will be doing our damnedest to keep the CAB open.'

West Devon Borough Council and the county council provide 95 per cent of the bureau's funding and the remaining five per cent is found by the management committee.

Mrs Osborne said unfortunately the shortfall between the funding received and the cost to run the bureau was getting bigger each year.

The situation was made worse this year by the borough's decision not to grant the usual supplementary grant of £750 and no contribution from Okehampton Town Council.

'The town council normally gives us a grant of £500 but this year we got nothing. I appreciate the council only has a small amount of money for grants and there are other charities in the town but to go from £500 to nothing makes us feel like we are not important to the town.'

The Okehampton CAB saw 2,233 people last year and answered 2,998 questions. The most frequent enquiries are about benefits, consumer issues and employment and housing.

'People come here because we are independent, impartial, confidential and free,' said Mrs Osborne.

The CAB is looking into fundraising on two levels — applying to national bodies for grants and local fundraising.

A car boot sale at Exeter Livestock Market on May 28 will be the first fundraiser and anyone with items for the sale is being asked to drop them in at the office in the Ockment Centre.

The bureau's annual meeting is being held on June 7 at 7pm in the CAB office and new members are being sought to 'bring a new perspective'.

Okehampton mayor Christine Marsh said she was sympathetic to the CAB's problems and knew how important it was to the community.

'Unfortunately, to get things happening in the town this year we had to increase the budget,' she said.

'We also had to find an extra £8,000 because the donation from the Okehampton United Ecclesiastical Trust was taken away from us through no fault of their own.

'If we can see a way around the problem we will and I hope to discuss it again with the town council.'