A CHARITY that provided a vital lifeline for parents with disabled children has been forced to close after seven years.

The chairman of the Parents Supporting Parents charity today said she was “saddened” by its decline but was forced to close the charity and its Dovercourt-based charity shop after financial and personal pressures became too much.

Chairman Rosemary Armour-Dow said: “It was just not financially viable to keep the shop open anymore and it was costing us money in the end.

“I noticed a change around the beginning of this year when the donations had reduced. People don’t realise that the credit crunch affects everyone all the way through and people are just hanging on to their money now.”

She added: “I couldn’t run the charity anymore for personal reasons and no-one else could take over, it was very hard, and when the lease ran out in August we made the difficult decision to close the shop.”

The Corner Shop for Kids Shop in High Street, Dovercourt, closed in August and the registered charity, Parents Supporting Parents is also no longer operational.