DESPITE news of a mental health charity’s demise in Wiltshire, Swindon’s services will remain in place.

It was announced earlier this week that Wiltshire Mind is to close two years after it was stripped of its funding from Wiltshire Council.

The charity will shut its doors on December 7 after it was unable to find alternative funding to keep its operations going.

Its sister service, Swindon Mind, is unaffected by the funding cuts and has vowed to help its Wiltshire counterpart where possible.

A spokesman for Swindon Mind said: “This news is a shock to us at Swindon Mind.

“A meeting will be held with Wiltshire Mind to see if there is anything we can do that can possibly alleviate the concerns that this news will have for people who have been using the service in Wiltshire, and the huge gap in service this will create.

“In Swindon we are presently working with commissioners in consultation with the forthcoming tendering of mental health services in Swindon.

“Hopefully through this process we can maintain our strong presence in Swindon as a key third sector provider for the better mental health of the Swindon population.”

Wiltshire Mind had been operating from a house in Newtown, Trowbridge, but it sold the property after losing funding worth £209,754 in July 2010, when the local authority gave the contract to supply mental health care services to Alabare, another charity based in the county town.

The trustees announced the decision on Wednesday morning after the charity had tried to support itself financially for two years by using its reserves.

The charity was founded in 1993 to provide care and information for people experiencing mental distress.

General manager Carolyn Long said: “This decision has been taken with great reluctance but sadly there seems to be no alternative as we have simply not been able to find the money needed to run Wiltshire Mind on a day-to-day basis.

“We are making every effort to signpost our service users to other organisations and will work to the end to ensure that we offer them all possible support.

“We are also ensuring that our staff, who have shown great dedication, are supported throughout this difficult time and in seeking future employment.”

Clients of the charity will no longer be able to attend information and support groups or use the counselling service from the week beginning November 12.