A MARRIAGE counselling service which has saved thousands of relationships is on the rocks after losing its council funding.

Couples Counselling Glasgow, based at Sandyford Place, Sauchiehall Street, has helped thousands of couples repair frayed relationships free of charge for the past sixty years.

But now the charity is having to charge some of the people who come to them for help just to keep their doors open.

Chairman Tony Rickets stresses that they are only charging those who can afford to pay, and says they are desperately trying to secure alternative funding source after Glasgow's councillors opted not to continue an annual £25,000 grant.

He said: "The work we do has been recognised as vitally important. It's now more important than ever because of the credit crunch and job losses which can put more pressure on relationships.

"The break-up of couples and families is a crisis which causes all sorts of problems, including those for children, and housing needs.

"Last year we dealt with 2000 couples. We get people to talk to each other, and to listen to each other.

"Our grant funding is worth about £40,000 per year. We still get funding from the health board but we're still short by about £25,000.

"It costs about £4000 to train our volunteer counsellors and that cost is going to rise.

"On top of that we have to pay for premises, heating costs and we've got a small paid staff.

"We've had to put out a warning of possible redundancy because if we close we will have to make them redundant."

Council chiefs say they face tough spending choices brought about by tight budget limits, and add that the decision not to spend money on the service is no reflection on the good work it does.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: "This decision should not be seen as a comment on the organisation itself.

"The current economic climate has placed huge financial pressure on the council and the decision was made within that context.

"The social work department has to find £7m of savings this year and the priority has been to protect core services.

"Decisions were only taken after very careful consideration and the money saved has helped to offset financial pressure in other key areas."

Couples Counselling Glasgow was set up in 1947 as the Glasgow Marriage Advice Centre. Since then it helped countless couples from across the west of Scotland with a variety of problems.