A GROUP supporting stroke survivors and carers across the Bradford district is "hanging by a thread" as it tries to survive funding cuts to last into the new year.

Shipley Stroke Group, which started 17 years ago, is struggling to cover annual running costs of up to £30,000 in the wake of reduced financial support from the Bradford Districts Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

In 2011/12, the group's £35,000 annual funding was halved, then reduced to £9,420 per year, and co-chairman Helen Galtress says the latest reduction will leave an income of less than £200 a week, enough to cover rent and insurance but no staffing costs.

"We are in dire straits," she said.

"We are praying we can get some more funding to keep us going, but it is all up in the air.

"We have some savings that may be able to keep us going until January, but we are hanging by a thread and there are now just a few volunteers holding the group together.

"It's all very unsettling for our members, who may end up with nowhere to go."

The group, which has about 40 members and meets weekly at Haworth Road Methodist Church, has applied for funding to other organisations such as Sovereign Healthcare and Santander in an attempt to secure its immediate future.

It lost its specialist tutors, including an artist and beautician, this month as it could no longer afford to pay them, while other staff have become volunteers in order to keep the group going.

A CCG spokesman said a new district-wide Stroke Support Service, originally scheduled to come online this month, will now be operational by January 1, 2015.

The provision is set to include local support groups, and could see the transfer of existing groups if an agreement can be reached with the new service provider.

"We have offered to provide further funding to Shipley Stroke Group until December 31," said the spokesman.

"We hope that this funding will ensure that the group remains able to function until the new service is operational, so that they have the opportunity to discuss with the new provider how their work could compliment the delivery of the new service model, which looks to provide short to medium term support to new patients to enable them to become independent and self-reliant."

National charity the Stroke Association, which will also see cuts to its services in Bradford come into effect at the end of this month, has said it is currently liaising with the council on ways to continue its local support.

From September 30, the association's Information Advice and Support services, Six-Month Review and Back-to-Life services will cease to operate across the district.

Julia MacLeod, head of operations for Yorkshire & the Humber, said she was "disappointed" with the decision by the CCGs and Bradford Council to end the group's funding.

"Although the Stroke Association will no longer be able to provide services in Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven, the charity will continue to work hard to help stroke survivors get the essential support they need to rebuild their life, and we have been assured that the CCGs and council are currently working to ensure the needs of stroke survivors and families are met," she said.