A LOCAL charity has been saved from bankruptcy and has had its future secured after being given more than £30,000 from the National Lottery, it was announced this week.

The Furniture Helpline, a Bordon-based charity, faced a financial crisis during the past month after its van was written off in a road accident and vandals put its hire van out of action.

Finally, the run of bad luck seems to have ended for The Furniture Helpline.

Gerald Robinson, the general manager, said: "A couple of weeks ago we were considering closing the charity.

"Last week, the phone went and my daughter told me I had received a grant of £38,500 from the National Lottery.

"Sometimes you're beating you're head against a brick wall wondering where the next piece of furniture or the next pound is coming from, to have this - well, it's amazing.

"We've been saved and, more importantly, the people in need have been saved and we can continue to recycle in excess of 170 tonnes of domestic material a year.

"It secures our future and we can continue to offer the service that we do to people in need in East Hampshire and Waverley."

Trouble started for the charity with a traffic accident which destroyed its van. Mr Robinson said: "Five weeks ago, a vehicle ran into the back of our van and wrote it off.

"That was followed by a frantic period of looking at our bank balance and finding we did not have enough to cover our replacement vehicle."

The charity then applied to EHDC for a £6,000 grant which it provided, as well as further funding totalling £12,600, which the charity would pay back when it raised the rest of the capital.

The National Lottery application had been submitted some time ago, but was originally turned down.

Mr Robinson submitted a second application, but then forgot about it.

He said: "We're delighted.

"We gave East Hampshire District Council its £12,600 back and we're now looking for a new vehicle."

The money will cover the cost of the new van and three years' running costs of the vehicle.

The Furniture Helpline serves a minimum of 1,200 people a year throughout the area, from Farnham to Midhurst in the South East.

Its new van should be up and running within a couple of weeks.

After the vandalism to the hire van, the new van will be stored inside the charity's warehouse for security.

Mr Robinson said: "Unfortunately, we will be forced to keep the vehicle in the warehouse, which reduces the space for furniture."