TREATMENT and care of people with mental illness has long suffered from a lack of resources.

When all health services are under pressure because of a shortage of cash, mental illness never seems to reach the top of the priority list.

This is surprising when these days there are few families in which someone has not suffered from one form of mental illness or another.

In that context it is sad that Blackburn's Mind Centre closed in 2003 and a specially bought and refurbished new centre has been gathering dust ever since because there is no one to staff it.

Mind has 200 'drop in' centres across the country run by local trustees and while Blackburn undoubtedly has plenty of people with mental health problems, there is nowhere they can visit to talk without having a pre-arranged appointment.

The original centre shut when council funding was withdrawn and trustees now need to find suitable people to keep it going or put the building up for sale within the next few months.

If towns like Blackpool, Bolton and Nelson are able to sustain such centres, it seems a shame that Blackburn cannot do the same.

Hopefully spurred on by the memory of what happened to suspected suicide victim Barbara Cocker, enough dedicated people will come forward to make the project a reality.