Funding for community mental health services in west Kent will be slashed by 25%, we can exclusively reveal.

The shock announcement comes after Kent County Council awarded £4m of contracts to run care across the county for five years to two charities.

Shaw Trust and Porchlight were successful in their bids and will further contract out care.

The authority insist funding will remain the same but will be allocated, meaning areas with a greater need, such as Thanet, will get more.

As a result other areas will suffer, with west Kent's budget being slashed by £254,000 a year.

While the current annual funding equates to £1.3m, £300,000 of this is not KCC money.

Shaw Trust will provide care in the region, in a contract worth £754,109 a year, and Ashford, Canterbury and Coastal (£848,263).

Porchlight was awarded the two contracts for Thanet and South Kent coast (£1,413,699) and Dartford, Gravesham, Swanley and Swale (DGSS – £1,026,930). A provider for a second NHS contract for DGSS is yet to be found.

It is hoped the shake-up will streamline service provision.

Currently around 50 smaller organisations are provided with annual funding by KCC to deliver community care.

In west Kent Maidstone and MidKent Mind, West Kent Mind and Tunbridge Wells Mental Health Resource Ltd will cease providing services in April.

Shaw Trust is in talks with the organisations and is yet to choose subcontractors.

Jenny Walsh, CEO of MMK Mind, said the charity receives an average of £120,000 a year from KCC to provide 11 programmes.

She said while these will stop in April they may be replaced by similar projects, although this is down to Shaw Trust and less funding will mean fewer services.