THE future of a crisis-hit charity has been secured after it won a £264,000 lottery grant.

Home-Start Blackburn and Darwen was facing a bleak future after losing 80 per cent of its funding because of local authority cut backs.

In March, the Lancashire Telegraph revealed the body, which offers practical help to needy families in the borough, was having to shed jobs, volunteers and scale back its work because Blackburn with Darwen Council withdrew £117,000 a year funding.

But now, thanks to the Big Lottery Fund, and smaller grants from the NHS and the Henry Smith Charity, more volunteers will be recruited, trained and managed, to give vital support to families who have at least one child under the age of five who are experiencing difficulties.

Amanda Barrass, of Home Start, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be successful in securing the funding.

“It means that our services are secured for the next three years, but we’re not out of the woods yet. Three years is not a long time and we will be doing a lot of forward planning to ensure our operation is sustainable.”

Home-Start began in Blackburn 20 years ago, and at its peak in 2010, there were 98 volunteers on the books, providing 180 hours of support to families every week.

She said: “We’ve always had a good relationship with Blackburn with Darwen Council, so it was sad that we were the first to be cut from the budget, and we weren’t seen as an essential service or a priority.

“We do preventative work that saves a lot of money.”

Helen Bullough of the Big Lottery Fund, said: “We are pleased to be able to support these excellent projects to continue and build upon their crucial work.”

Anyone interested in becoming a Home-Start volunteer can call 01254 692613.