Closing a Bedminster counselling service for blind people would be like "closing the only window in an already darkened room" according to one of hundreds of people that would be affected.

The Bristol office of Action for Blind People is one of the few places in the country that offers counselling services for blind and visually impaired people and their families.

The charity has made a desperate plea for funding after coming under threat of closure. The service, previously run by RNIB, has been in operation since 2001, providing much needed support to hundreds of Bristol and South Gloucestershire residents.

Alan Brown, 72, lives in Ashton Vale and regularly uses the services the charity, which has a clinic in Bedminster, provides.

He said: "Over the last six years, since I lost my sight, the organisation has come to mean a terrific amount to me. Especially in those early days when it was difficult to come to terms with the impairment, the counselling service helped me and my family so much. I don't know who I would have turned to without them.

"It is a vital service, there is nothing else like it. Imagine being blind is like being in a dark room with no light and Action is the only window letting in light and offering hope for the future.

"For all those who have used the service and those who perhaps don't know about it there is nothing greater than the voice of experience that they have and the help and support their workshops and counselling services have given me."

The charity relies on a range of sources of funding and donations from organisations and individuals, to deliver its services. It is now calling for support from local authorities and other local organisations that could help provide funding to keep it open for the next 12 months.

Lorraine Munro, senior counsellor, said: "Over 100 people have used our services this year alone and people continue to contact us as their sight loss affects them at different stages in their lives. Experiencing sight loss affects different people in different ways and for different reasons. Losing your sight can be like a major bereavement and 90 per cent of people report feeling depressed.

"Since we started, the service has become a specialist clinic and we have had people approaching us to roll out similar schemes across the country. It is absolutely what is needed. Often the emotional effects of sight loss are overlooked.

"It would be an absolute tragedy is this was lost and we are hoping that anyone with an interest in the well being and health of the community will come forward to help us save the service."

For more information contact Action for Blind People's National Freephone Helpline on 0800 915 4666 or www. actionforblindpeople.org.uk