A BURNLEY charity that helps disabled people get out and about has been given a helping hand and saved from closure.

Burnley’s Shop Mobility, which hires out scooters and wheelchairs from their St James’s Street location, was struggling financially and was just days from closing the doors for good, charity bosses said.

However, Paul Anderson, managing director of Jay-Care, a mobility store also situated in the town centre, stepped in and offered some business advice.

He said: “Shop Mobility was genuinely within a week of closing the doors for good. The whole business plan and model was wrong.

“I own Jay Care, which is related through industry, so I stepped in initially to help with restructuring the business model and made it more workable. We have changed the corporate image and introduced some basic membership fees and charges. We have also promoted the services in the right areas.

“The charity has sat dormant for a number of years and we have just introduced a few basic rules of business.”

He said although he is now elected head of the charity, the whole organisation is run by volunteers and has no paid members.

“We have had some tough times and the vast majority of the volunteers have dug deep. It’s only because of them that we have been able to survive.

“I started with shop mobility in December 2013 after five or six consecutive years of making a loss. This year – the first full year with the new model in place – we have gone from a loss of £2,500 to a small profit of £1,500 – a swing of nearly £4,000 which is brilliant.

“It has been very difficult but the foundations are in place now to build on it further in this financial year.”

He said at the moment securing the financial future of the charity is key.

“The charity has been in the town centre for 21 years and it would be badly missed by the elderly and the disabled. For some, we are the only people they may see or speak to all week.”

He said charity events were in the pipeline later this summer including sponsored bag packs, a sponsored walk and other fundraising activities.

The shop is open Monday to Friday between 9am and 3pm.