A BOLTON charity whose vital outings for housebound elderly were forced to close has been offered a cash lifeline following an article in The Bolton News.

Bolton Community Transport and Furniture Services collects unwanted household furniture, white goods and electrical goods to sell. The money raised goes to funding a programme of subsidised outings, holidays and excursions.

The charity has been in existence for 20 years and is itself a lifeline for many. Last year, it organised 64 excursions involving more than 960 elderly, disabled and socially isolated individuals.

But, a reduction in donated items badly affected available cash and the organisation, very reluctantly, announced it had to cancel its travel programme. This left scores of local elderly people upset and without the regular outings which also brought friendship and a social life.

After seeing The Bolton News’ article, however, a trustee of the UKH Foundation – a charity promoting physical and mental health in the community – made contact.

The result has been a successful grant application. As BCTFS general manager Diane Firth explained: “We are extremely grateful for the generous grant we have received from the UKH Foundation.

“We were facing a complete withdrawal of our service but the grant has allowed us to continue this valuable lifeline and we are now able to provide two excursions a month for the next 12 months.

“Our service users were delighted with the news and the first fully-booked trip of the year has already taken place to Oswaldtwistle Mills.”

The charity has a large warehouse in Lecturers Close, on the fringe of the town centre, stocked with items from sofas and fridges to new beds and mirrors. It sells to landlords, the public and social care agencies and has a free collection service, generally within two days. For more information, go to www,bctfs.co.uk