THE head of Redditch Citizens Advice Bureau says its resources have dwindled to such a dangerous level after a council funding cut that its "foundations are crumbling".

The annual grant was slashed from £100,000 to £90,000 earlier this year.

Acting manager Tony Ventura said the 10 per cent decrease had had a devastating effect on the services the organisation could offer.

Many disabled people were now missing out on benefits as CAB no longer had time to help them fill in complicated benefits forms.

"Many people who are entitled to these benefits are filling forms out incorrectly because they're so confusing," said Mr Ventura.

"The person who receives them doesn't see the person, just the form, and benefit applications are being rejected.

"We simply don't have the time or staff to really help them anymore. And if they're refused benefits and try to appeal, funding cuts mean it's very difficult to represent them.

"We're also finding it virtually impossible to represent people in county court, which is devastating for us. People stand in court and physically shake because they're terrified of what will happen to them. We should be there to give them guidance and explain what's going on."

Last year, CAB dealt with 16,000 people - which led to them helping with 26,000 issues.

Mr Ventura said despite the dedication and determination of staff and volunteers, the strain was now beginning to show, with both workers and clients.

"Recently, a man came to us desperate for help and we said we couldn't see him - we simply didn't have the staff to help at that time," he said.

"In his frustration, he broke a hinge on the front door trying to get in to see someone. People are being turned away a lot of the time and this is the last thing we want to do."

Mr Ventura added: "Our foundations are crumbling, we're struggling so much and have no idea how much longer this can go on. Things may never get better."

Council Leader David Cartwright said: "We pay for a service from CAB and we obviously judged the value of the service provided was worth this amount of grant.

"The council's role is not to bankroll all of the services CAB provides. It is mostly the money advice side that we fund.

"It would be a good idea for the CAB to talk to us about signing a contract, that way it would settle what is expected from us and also, what we are paying for."

Mr Cartwright added: "CAB was approached by Redditch Community Commonwealth with a view to getting help with additional grants and funding but they didn't respond."