A CHARITY which provides respite care for disabled children is facing being thrown out of its base.

Caring Today, which offers a lifeline to more than 130 families, may be forced to move from Brierfield Community Centre to the town hall.

Pendle Council are considering moving from their district office into the community centre in an attempt to provide a better service for Brierfield residents.

Yet a council report into the state of the town hall just four months ago slammed the building for its “poor disabled access”.

Feeraz Begum, co-ordinator at Caring Today, said: “In the town hall we would be unable to do our initial assessments for children because of the poor disabled access and lack of space.

“Without those assessments we can't offer the respite care which so many parents rely on.

“This will have a huge impact on those families, who rely on us to give them a few hours to rest and recuperate.

“We've not heard anything from the council and I have no idea why they want to do this to us.”

The charity was founded in 2001 and offers support groups for parents and carers, as well as offering respite to disabled children and children with learning difficulties.

Marie Kirk, from Burnley, has used the service for over 18 months with her autistic son Jamie, 11.

She said: “Whoever makes these decisions should consult parents first, they have put no thought into how this will upset the children.

“If Jamie has to start going to other buildings and be moved about he will not know what is going on."

Shahid Mahmood, also from Burnley, has two daughters aged 14 and 15, who both suffer from a rare disability called ataxia telangiectasia.

He said: “We really rely on the centre, especially the respite, which gives parents and carers a few hours to rest.

“It is hard work looking after disabled children and we need those few hours to get our energy back, without it it would be so much harder.“Caring Today really are a fantastic group and this would be a disaster for them and for us.”

Peter Slater, chairman of Caring Today, said: “We are desperately hoping that we can stay where we are.”

Kath Haydock, scrutiny manager at Pendle Council, said the move had been suggested as part of a review to ensure that all residents can access the council's outlying shops and offices.

She said: “We’ll be talking to Caring Today and other parties to make sure that their views are taken into account.”