A THIRD of charities in Warrington are in the red after grants have been cut and the recession has hit donations.

A Warrington Guardian Freedom of Information request found that of the 389 registered charities in the town, 123 spent more than they received last year.

Their total deficit was more than £1.4m, which ranged individually from £6 to £178, 870.

Ian Tierney, director of Cycling Projects, based on Buttermarket Street, said his cause had a £71,069 overspend last year.

The charity, which promotes cycling for disabled people and holds events at Victoria Park, said it will be looking at doing more fundraising events in the next year.

Mr Tierney said: “The charity has grown a lot over the past three to five years.

“I think the next year will show a different picture financially as this has been our busiest year.

“We have never done any fundraising and survived on winning lottery grants but now we may have to look at fundraising events in the next year.

“I think we need to start singing about what we have achieved to raise awareness in the town.”

Ron Davies, general secretary of the Warrington, Widnes and District Society for the Blind, said no legacies had been donated for the past two years, which had an impact on the charity’s finances and means its new contract with the social services department will be particularly important.

The charity overspent by £32,556 last year and had to draw on its reserves to survive.

Mr Davies said: “We are dependent upon support from local people and are always happy to receive donations.

“We have people who bring in money in memory of someone who has died as well as kind donations but I think these have slowly decreased over the years.

“A year without legacies is always difficult for us.”

He hopes the charity will not need to cut back on services which include home visits and minibus transport for blind and partially-sighted people to its social centre on Museum Street.

Young Enterprise North West, which helps youngsters gain skills for employment, saw the biggest deficit in the town with £178,870.

A spokesman said: “There is no denying that it has been a challenging year due to the changes with the allocation of funds from Government to local authorities and schools.

“We have seen a drop in bookings from schools as they too have suffered and do not have as much cash.”

The charity hopes that a merger into a national charity will help.

The spokesman added: “Our challenge in this tough climate is to move from being partly reliant on Government funds to being self sustaining.

“This is to ensure that young people experience enterprise work to help them build and develop their employability skills and potential to become entrepreneurs of the future.”

The Charity Commission said many charities operate with reserves and may also have assets including property or investments in addition to the income they receive.