A charity which runs day care centres for elderly and vulnerable people has been forced to increase its prices after a £100,000 funding cut.

Bosses at Age UK Medway have been told by Medway Council the charity would lose a £400,000 grant from April 1, but that they would still be paid £300,000 for services.

The grant is used to provide the majority of funding for their day centres, the Mackenney Centre in Gillingham and the Chris Ellis Centre in Strood.

The centres pick customers up for the day and organise a range of activities including arts and crafts, cooking, board games, bingo and quizzes.

At the moment private customers are charged a top-up payment of £19.50 and customers sponsored by social care services are charged £10.80, for costs not covered by the grant.

Due to the £100,000 cut the charity is being forced to raise prices to £42 a day, from April 1. Age UK Medway will charge the council for sponsored customers but private customers will have to pay the full amount.

It comes after charities and non-profit groups in Medway were told that they will be charged business rates from April.

"If they cannot afford to go then I won’t be able to see my friends. For some of them it’s the only chance they get to go out and talk to people each week"

One woman who uses the Age UK centres once a week said she was worried about losing friends she has made there.

“If they cannot afford to go then I won’t be able to see my friends. For some of them it’s the only chance they get to go out and talk to people each week.

“We’re all worried about the extra costs – £42 a week is a lot of money,” she said. “There’s an on-site hairdresser and discounted chiropodist if they can’t afford to go then they will lose access to those services.”

Chief executive of Age UK Medway, John Norley, said the charity had to think carefully about the centres’ future.

He told users of the centres: “We are devastated that we are being forced to make this price change in one leap, and so we are working hard to ensure we can provide a number of resources to help our customers cope with the increase in prices.

“We see this as a very short-sighted policy by both central and local government, and only contributing to the huge pressures on our hospitals brought through the increasing number of older people needing care and support.”

He added that the charity would help customers who were looking to seek financial support from social services.

Mr Norley will also be visiting the centres to make sure all customers understand the situation and reasons for the price hike.

He said: “We hope this change in charging, although difficult, will finally free us of the restrictions and monitoring imposed by the local council and allow us to develop the services you use to meet your needs, in any way we can.”

A Medway Council spokesman said: “We refer people to the two day centres and this is something we will continue to fund. We will also continue to give Age UK in Medway a grant to provide day services.

“We regularly assess the needs of the community and provide grants to the different services in Medway that can provide the support required.”