A GROUP which provides vital support to disabled people in Cirencester could be in danger of closing down unless more people step up to help out.

Doris Land, 69, who lives in Mulberry Court, has been disabled for the past 30 years due to suffering a brain haemorrhage in her 30s.

She leads both the town’s Access Group and DISC (Disabled Information and Support in the Cotswolds) and desperately needs more volunteers and funding for the latter to keep it afloat.

DISC, which helps disabled and elderly people receive the support they are entitled to from the authorities, only has two volunteers and a shortage of cash to carry out its work.

Mrs Land said: “We are worried about DISC. We need more money and volunteers. There are two of us, Dee Drinan and myself, but we started off with six.

"It would be nice if we had more than just the two of us. Some weeks we can be quite busy. I keep thinking I’m getting older and Dee’s getting older. It would be good to get a younger person in to try and keep it going.”

Despite advances in rights for disabled and elderly people, Mrs Land said there are still many who are not receiving the support they need.

“Even in this day and age I will find a woman who has never worked, who has a joint pension, whose husband worked all his life but then when he dies she is living off £45 a week, because they do not know what they’re entitled to,” she said.

Mrs Land, who is also a parish councillor for South Cerney, added: “For the past 30 years I have been disabled and I got quite a shock when I realised how difficult it was to find information on what benefits and equipment to which I might be entitled.

“I find it is getting worse, not better."

The grandmother-of-five also set up the Access Group 27 years ago with a few friends, and says she is always looking for new members.

The group goes around various firms, schools and streets in the Cotswolds to find out whether the area is safe and accessible for disabled people.

Mrs Land recently went to the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) with members of the group to see if the hallways were wide enough for a wheelchair and to find out if the lights were suitable for a partially-sighted person.

Her husband, Ian, said that one of the biggest problems is that when elderly and disabled people want to apply for support they struggle to fill out the necessary forms.

Mrs Land added that more and more of her clients who come for help are living in freezing homes because they are frightened to put the heating on due to the expense.

“If you know someone like this, please get in touch and maybe we can help," she said.

Call 01285 641413 to volunteer or for more details.