WORKERS who support Worcester's homeless claim false rumours are being spread that the Maggs Day Centre is closing.

Chairman of the trustees at Maggs, Rob Peachey, said he had received calls from a "huge number of people," mistakenly thinking the centre in Deansway was now permanently shut.

Terri Preece, co-ordinator at St Paul's Hostel in Tallow Hill, is also concerned about the stories.

She said, work was "stressful enough without people trying to spread rumours".

"We are disappointed that people might be spreading rumours that we are closing," said Mr Peachey.

"We have a team of very dedicated staff and we will be fully-open as long as our funding continues."

He confirmed the charity had a minor blip with staffing two weeks ago and was currently, "well into the process," of appointing a new manager.

"We did have to close for two days, but that was down to a member of staff on holiday and unforeseen illnesses," he said.

"The trustees were brilliant and stepped in to help with staffing levels and we should soon be fully operational."

Mr Peachey believes the number of worried people who have contacted him shows the wealth of warmth felt towards the centre.

This is reflected in the increase of volunteers coming forward to help the charity, with many helping with its resettlement scheme.

The charity also has an emergency reserve of roughly nine months of cash in place to deal with any worst case scenario.

Worcestershire County Council, the city council and the health authority's primary care trust all help to contribute towards the charity's running costs.

Maggs also receives a substantial donation from Worcester Municipal and Consolidated Charities and receives financial help from a large number of individual contributors.

The centre operates from Sunday to Thursday inclusive and serves breakfast from 7.30am to night sleepers.

It is also set to open a night shelter for two months to help clients through the winter chill.