OLDER people in the borough could be left short changed following cuts to services, according to Hyndburn’s mayor.

Funding to Hydburn’s Citizens Advice Bureau and Help Direct have been reduced and charities like Age Concern Hyndburn and Hyndburn Homewise are struggling to cope with the strain.

Hyndburn mayor Collette McCormack, who is also the borough’s older people’s champion, said the cuts were causing a ‘knock on effect’ so older people face not getting the help they need in future.

Hyndburn Homewise, which offers home maintainance, adaptions and repairs for older people, said they were receiving a rise in queries of aproximately a third, coupled with ‘cuts across the board’ to their own funding.

The borough’s Home Improvement Agency, which also advises older people on using reputable tradesman and avoiding scams, said they would need to apply for external funding to keep up with the new demand.

However Coun McCormack said all the borough’s groups were ‘chasing the same pot of money’.

She said: “It is terrible, because in these hard times, more people need help than ever before.

“They go to these charities and services which were set up especially to help them, but they are so strained they are in danger of being lost.

“Everybody is affected by this, but from meeting with groups like HH and Age Concern, it seems older people are being left with the scraps”.

Age Concern Hyndburn said they were dealing with a rise in queries due to the strain on other services, such as Citizens Advice, with fewer volunteers.

Lyndsay Wheatcroft at Hyndburn Homewise said: “More people’s circumstances have changed so they become eligible for the help we offer.

“We are now looking into alternative funding streams so that we can help as many as possible stay independent in the own homes.

“Though we don’t have exact figures, the queries we are receiving seems to have risen by at least a third. We have had to change the entire way we operate due to cuts aross the board”.