IMAGINE you're a young mum living alone on an estate and you desperately need to see a doctor.

But there's no GP in your area, you have no car and no one's willing to give you a lift because community spirit doesn't exist.

Or maybe you need a prescription for your child but there's no chemist for miles around.

How often have you heard people say the closure of a local doctors' surgery or shop has torn the heart out of the community?

This is because shops, doctors and chemists all contribute towards the rich fabric of community life.

Sure Start, a £5m Government-funded scheme, aims to strengthen ties between families and communities and build a community's capacity to sustain itself.

The scheme will be working with parents-to-be and mums and dads of children under the age of four, to not only better the community, but help improve children's social and emotional development, health and learning ability.

Parents living in Worcester's main Sure Start areas of Dines Green, including all housing to the west of Laugherne Brook together with Meadowbank Drive, Tolladine and Brickfields, including houses in Windermere Drive, will be consulted on how best to use the funds.

Up to £750,000 will be ploughed into the areas each year for five years and, in addition, up to £750,000 of capital will be used over the first three years.

Organisers expect people to have different ideas about how to improve their neighbourhoods.

Ann Witcombe, manager of Tykes Creche Club at Tolladine Community Centre, said she would like to see the pre-school club have a room of its own.

The club meets on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 10am to noon.

"We have one big room for around 30 children," she said.

"If we had more room we'd be able to do more.

"The best thing would be for us to have our own space because the room we're in now is shared with every other group."

Mrs Witcombe said the crche had the room to itself for three days a week. But at other times, it was used by groups such as the Boys' Club.

"It's difficult for the crche to put posters on the walls and leave them there because of this," she said.

"If the little ones do a picture we put it up during the session, but then we have to pull it down."

The group, which has been meeting for 12 years, caters for children aged two to five.

It has toys and bicycles, many of which have been donated by people on the estate.

"We've got storage space under the stage, and whatever we use we have to put away," Mrs Witcombe added.

"If we had our own space we could call it our own.

"The majority of people on the estate would say knock the building down and start again."

Mrs Witcombe did not know how many parents were aware of Sure Start, but pledged to hand out leaflets and speak to families about it.

She also said she felt building a chemist's shop in Tolladine would help improve the community and help mums with young children.

"If you think about how big the estate is, it's ridiculous that they've got a few shops but no chemist," she said.

"People have to go to Rainbow Hill."

Ian Craigan, assistant community development manager for Worcester City Council, said one way to help involve families in their neighbourhoods was to run play schemes.

"This is so that people feel connected and part of where they live," he said.

"There are no full-time day care nurseries in any of the Sure Start areas, and there is a need for them.

"If the community centre at Dines Green was extended maybe it could provide one."

Sure Start aims to strengthen families and communities by putting parent representatives on the Sure Start board, alongside health and community experts and social services and local authorities.

It also wants to increase available childcare and build links with the Employment Service to cut unemployment and encourage the development of the Information Advice and Guidance Network.

"It's a careers advice service giving people the chance to look at a wider range of options and all types of learning opportunities," he said.

"It's about personal development and self-confidence.

"Relative to the west of Worcester, there are a high number of people receiving the Jobseekers' Allowance in the three Sure Start areas, and fewer professional people.

Zahoor Ahmad, deputy chief executive of Worcester Racial Equality Council, dubbed the Sure Start funding a "good start".

"But this is just a start and these sort of things have to be continuous or sustainable to make an impact," he said.

"Sure Start has targeted areas with disadvantaged families with indicators which relate to the health and well-being of young children.

"Groups of parents and children will have one thing in common which puts them at a disadvantage, for instance, ethnic origin."

Sure Start's target is for 75 per cent of families to report an improvement in services.

"We are fairly optimistic about this," Mr Craigan added.

"But we rely on having good feedback from adults on what they want to improve.

"What we want is to get all families in the Sure Start areas to say what they want.

"Things won't get better if they don't tell us what they would like to do to improve their community."

Sure Start is emphasising it cannot make any decisions without parents' help.

Anyone interested in becoming involved can call Mr Craigan on 01905 722360.