People struggling with their mental health and reliant on a food bank will now have nowhere to go after a church was forced to close.

Visitors to the support group at Swanscombe Methodist Church in Church Road will need to find much-needed support elsewhere after the news it would close in August.

Members of the 136-year-old church were dealt the devastating blow earlier this month via a letter from the senior committee at North Kent Methodist Circuit.

The Swansombe church’s senior steward and worship leader, Janet Errington, said she knew they were threatening the action but was hoping they might be dealt a reprieve.

“We knew this day was coming,” she said. “We just hoped it wouldn’t.”

The church is the only one in the North Kent Methodist Circuit being told to close and Ms Errington said they were advised the decision was down to declining member numbers.

“We needed 12 members to stay open. We have 12 but, because we only got them at the beginning of the year, apparently it doesn’t count.”

And she said the closure in August will have a devastating effect on the community.

As well as church services, the place of worship also places host to Helping Hands, a group which offers free support to residents with poor mental health and a complimentary cup of tea or coffee to anyone who walks through the door.

There is a cross stitch group which has run for decades and a Saturday coffee morning once a month which welcomes more than 60 people for a hot drink and a chat.

Janet said: “It’s a warm, safe welcoming space where people can come for a chat and a cup of tea.”

She said many worshippers will struggle to find another church within walking distance as many do not drive and the buses are unreliable.

“I know at least four families who just don’t know where they are going to go.”

She added: “We are all very downhearted.”

Darren Riley is a veteran and an armed forces champion who set up the Helping Hands group almost exactly a year ago.

“I was almost in tears when I heard,” he said.

His group provides free support including somewhere to go to chat or the chance to learn life skills with talks from the Citizens Advice Bureau and the emergency services.

He is worried about where people will go if they cannot find new premises to operate from.

“In the last 12 months the people who come here have become incredibly dependent on the support from this group. I believe it’s going to have a very negative impact on people’s mental health and well-being.

“If we cannot find another venue this help and support we provide will not be local which will be devastating for everybody.

“If it is taken away from us and the other groups who use it on a weekly basis it is going to be a damn shame.”

Rev Dr Bonni-Belle Pickard, superintendent minister for North Kent Methodist Circuit, said: “It is with great sadness that the decision has been made to cease worship and close the Swanscombe Methodist Church.

“The congregation has had fewer than a dozen members over the past several years making it practically unsustainable. We will continue to liaise with the organisations who currently use the building to find new venues for their work.”

Rev Dr Pickard confirmed there has been no decision over the future of the building.