An appeal has gone out to Bronte Society members worldwide to help claw back a cash deficit.

The Society, which runs the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth, has dipped into its reserves to the tune of £23,177 because of investments and acquisitions.

Total funds for 2004 were £1,119,365 compared to £1,142,542 the previous year.

Museum director, Alan Bentley, has appealed for help "bridge" the funding gap.

He says in the annual report published today: "We are still working at a deficit. We need the help of you, our supporters, to enable us to bridge the gap between income and expenditure and provide a stable source of income through giving to the society.

"This could be a one-off regular gift, a gift of shares or remembering the Society in your will."

With help, he was confident they would soon be able to announce a break-even year.

A deal with a Japanese company, which had been in negotiations over the past year, would hopefully be clinched soon.

It involved licensing a Bronte writing kit aimed at Japanese female executives.

He stressed that the deficit was not the result of money "seeping" away but because of investment in refurbishing the Bronte Museum shop and on new acquisitions.

The museum had been able to increase its revenue from the shop and it had also expanded its education and events programme. He reminded members that last year's wet August had hit visitor numbers.

Chairman of the finance committee, Alf East, said new income needed to be found by attracting people to support the society by regular donations and bequests to enable it to fulfil its duties as a charity and achieve its aims.

He was not unhappy with the deficit because it had helped move the society forward and said, overall, it had been a positive year.