A BRADFORD charity which has supported parents and their toddlers for over 30 years has been forced to close.

Earlier this month, a letter was released by the Bradford Under Fives Association (BUFA) saying it would be shutting its doors at the end of March.

It cited a "loss of funding during the past six months" as the main reason why the "difficult decision" had to be made.

The charity ran groups, attended by thousands since 1992, across the Bradford district.

Frances Ipson, of BUFA, was keen to outline how important the groups have been over the years.

"They didn't just help the children but the parents," she told the Telegraph & Argus.

"They could meet other parents and were given that confidence to go out. I can't tell you about how much going to toddler group meant to everybody.

"They had very widespread benefits for families. A lot of people will remember us.

"We had 150 member groups during the 90s and 2000s but things have changed since then and our membership has gradually gone down."

Mrs Ipson is "very worried" for those who will now miss out on the service after seeing a decline in users since Covid.

She said: "Despite a lot of work from our field workers to try to revive them, there are a lot of children and their parents who got used to not going anywhere. It became a habit.

"This disadvantage is going to continue and get worse because they are not developing their language, meeting other children, and doing different kinds of play activities."

The full letter from Doreen Williams Chair Bradford under Fives Association read: "At an emergency committee meeting on January 24, the Trustees of Bradford under Fives met to discuss the future of the organisation.

"They feel that due to the loss of funding during the past six months and the current funding outlook for charities, it would be in the best interest of the organisation to close.

"This has been a difficult decision for the trustees to make and has not been taken lightly.

"In line with our constitution, 75 per cent of the membership of the association voted to accept the Trustees recommendation.

"Bradford under Fives Association will close its doors for the last time on March 31, 2024."

It added: "The Trustees and staff would like to thank all the partners and colleagues and members of staff who we have worked with over the years.

"But most of all we would like to thank the group leaders and the families with under-fives in the Bradford district who we have been privileged to support since 1992."