The user of a popular free counselling service has added her voice to a campaign to prevent it closing.

The users, volunteer counsellors and organisers of Haye Mill counselling centre near Callington are trying to raise £60,000 to allow them to continue.

The vital professional sessions are held in a working watermill with no waiting list, no means test and no catch.

Hundreds of people in crisis, from Plymouth to Bodmin and across the Tamar Valley and into Dartmoor, have used the service since it was formed by the Rev John Littlewood 43 years ago as a charity. But health reasons have forced him to retire and the charity needs to repay the £60,000 interest-free loan he made to keep Haye Mill running.

One user, who prefers to be known only as Ms R, has thanked Haye Mill counsellors for supporting her mental health when going through marriage problems and working as a sexual violence worker.

She said: “I found myself going through a very difficult time, having gone through a very long and difficult marriage.

“I buried my head in the sand and kept telling myself it would be ok. Unfortunately, my life felt like it was going downhill on roller skates at that time.

“I was working as an independent sexual violence advocate at the time for children and although it was rewarding helping victims, it was tough on me. Looking back, a lot of it took its toll on my mental health.

“Things weren't easy. I found I had hit a mountain and was forced to think about difficult times in my childhood and of course feeling the strain of everything.”

Ms R was a single mum working full time with a mortgage, but not entitled to benefits. She could not afford counselling, costing around £30 an hour.

She then discovered Haye Mill which immediately responded to her plea for help and allocated her a counsellor.

She said: “I had Haye Mill weekly counselling sessions for five months. Catherine was my counsellor. She was so lovely, warm and friendly and had so much experience.

“Catherine helped me pack away some bad childhood experiences and find the lost person I had become. We looked at my life and she walked with me to find the good that was there.

“I would always look forward to seeing Catherine. She could always make me see that I had the tools to be happier and make my life happier, dealing with things bit by bit.

“I am now out of that darkness. My experience at Haye Mill and their help I received, will keep me positive. I couldn't see a way out before.

“I can't thank the charity enough as there was no way I could have afforded help at that time it was such a blessing.”

Campaigner Catherine Tomlinson said: "Haye Mill is a lifeline of free counselling, now at risk of being lost forever. Users are helped with anxiety, grief, relationship breakdowns, trauma, and the everyday pressures of rural life.”

Donations towards saving the counselling service can be made at this link: Crowdfunder