A CASH-STRAPPED charity which provides a vital lifeline for scores of arthritis sufferers in East Lancashire is fighting for survival.

Volunteers and more money are desperately needed to help keep the Blackburn and Darwen branch of Arthritis Care alive.

The group gives crucial support to more than 100 people affected by the debilitating disease.

But interest in the branch has waned over the past year leaving it on the verge of folding.

Veronica Walsh, transport officer for Arthritis Care, is one of three people trying to keep the group going.

She said people who relied on the charity would be devastated if it folded.

"The group helps people to forget about their aches and pains by getting them out of their homes," she went on.

"We have been trying to recruit help, but nobody seems to want to do it." The organisation needs a chairperson, a secretary and as many volunteers as possible to get it back on track.

Transport costs are also eating into the group's funds. It currently pays for five vehicles to help ferry members about.

The branch meets on the second Monday of each month at Mill Hill Working Men's Club in Blackburn.

It is open to all arthritis sufferers and anyone interested in their welfare.

It devotes itself to the welfare needs of those with arthritic diseases and is dedicated to encouraging mutual support and self-help among its members.

About eight million people in the UK suffer from arthritis and more than 200,000 of them are house-bound.

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