Littlehampton Shopmobility faces acute funding crisis

Littlehampton Shop Mobility, in St Martin's Lane, is finding it increasingly difficult to raise the average 29,000 a year it needs, and could be forced to close in April.

Manager Hierlei Nash said: "I don't know if it's the current financial climate, or if it's because people do not know exactly what we do here, but funding avenues are drying up.

"We have just been given a grant which will last until the beginning of the next financial year, but I do not know what will happen after that."

She added that many people had a misconception about the shop, which operates as an individual charity.

"The National Federation of Shop Mobility is one charity, and then all the shops across the country are seperate to that, and responsible for their own fundraising."

The shop, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in June, offers a range of services, including the hire of mobility scooters and wheelchairs at affordable prices.

"The idea is to make mobility accessible to all, because not everyone can afford to buy. But we do so much more than that, like offer advice on all mobility aids, without sales pressure, or just have a chat about their needs. We can do that because we are a charity, not a private concern."

More than 200 people in Littlehampton and the surrounding areas hire their machines from Hierlei.

"Where would they go if we were not here?", she asked.

She added that neither she, nor the shop's trsustees, would go down without a fight, and that everything possible would be done to keep Shop Mobility in Littlehampton.

"We have a fantastic group of trustees, who are really hands-on and passionate about what we do here.

"At the moment, it is a matter of 'use us or lose us', as the more people we can get on our books, the more weight I have when applying for grants."

* The Duchess of Norfolk will be at the shop on November 25, at 1pm, to present six new wheelchairs, donated by Splash FM and Seawell International

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