A Gloucestershire charity which provides support to families of children and young adults with special educational needs and disabilities, has set up a coronavirus emergency fund.

The Spring Centre Trust in Quedgeley had to suspend its day centre activities on March 23 due to the pandemic.

And the charity has set up the Helping Hand Fund to ensure it can reopen when the time is right.

The trust offers daily activities and support to more than 120 families with children and young adults with conditions including cerebral palsy, Down's syndrome, autism and epilepsy as well as visual, hearing or speech impairments.

Care services manager Sarah Woodridge said: "We are an integral part of their community, helping to overcome and manage their many mental and physical challenges.

"Our support is invaluable at any time but even more so now."

While the charity is maintaining close contact with its most vulnerable families, offering mental and practical support, it is asking for support to make sure it will be able to offer these much-needed services at the end of the coronavirus crisis.

Business manager Bridgette King said: "We need to ensure we are able to survive financially in the short term so that we can resume our activities for the longer term.

"Costs have been reduced as far as possible with seven staff furloughed using the Government's job retention scheme but this is the full extent of the assistance available.

"We are already seeing our income suffer as fundraising events, collections and essential services are cancelled."

She continued: "As a charity totally reliant on voluntary fundraising support and with much of our income generated from fundraising events alone, we urgently need your help.

"There have been fantastic responses to the bigger and national charities but the small charities that provide such a vital service need your help too so we can survive to be there for when the lockdown is over."

To donate to the fund click here or to find out more about The Spring Centre, click here.