FRESH fruit and vegetables delivered to people who are disabled and housebound have been axed - because funding has dried up.

Takings have soared from £200 a week to £200,000 a year at Halton Food Co-op but a lack of Government support means it could soon close.

"I'm losing my eyesight and can't carry anything heavy," said Lynne Longman, of Windmill Hill, Runcorn, a customer since the project launched three years ago.

"I've got arthritis and RSI. This is a brilliant service. They even got me garlic and rosemary for a Jamie Oliver recipe."

Disabled Beryl Roberts, of The Croft, said: "I'll really miss it. There's no one else who can deliver. I haven't got a car or a computer.

"These lads are great, nothing is too much trouble for them."

A cash crisis has forced the Co-op to take its mobile shop off the road because they can't afford the £2,500 insurance.

It has laid off one employee and the remaining staff are now on short time. It is using their wages to buy produce. They have never taken a day off sick or missed a single delivery .

Graham Crewe, project manager, said that the group was annoyed that £32m Government funding had been awarded to Halton to improve housing, health and education but they were left out.

He said: "I rang them up to see if there was any chance they could help us out and they said it's all allocated.We only need £100,000 to keep us going for a year.

"We generate around £40,000 a year so we're not helpless. We just need support to meet our overheads so we can provide top quality fruit and veg at an affordable price."

Stuart Almond, who drives to the daily wholesale market at 4.45am, said: "Some customers buy two carrots and four mushrooms because that's all they can afford but we also supply big families who can't carry sacks of spuds.

"We've got the vehicles, the experience, the contracts and the customer base. I spend £4,000 a week at the market - that's how much demand there is."

Supplying Halton's 63 schools with produce for salad bars and prepared vegetables plus nursing homes and Halton Haven, is keeping the Co-op going.

Mr Almond said: "Funders don't like us taking on commercial work but it helps us pay for diesel and gives us cash to go to market."

A Halton Council spokesman said: "We provide a funding inquiry service and the food co-op is more than welcome to talk to us.

"We will do funding searches for them to see what is available.

"Some new European funding programmes are due to be announced in the coming months."

Halton Primary Care Trust, which acquired external funding to buy the Co-op a Suzuki van, said the Co-op must now become self sufficient.

Director of public health Dr Daniel Seddon, said: "The food Co-op is fantastic.

"I would love it to continue but the money that supported it has come from outside Halton and was only ever for a short period of time.

"They have got to find an imaginative way to make it work long term."

Are you one of the customers affected? Call reporter Barbara Jordan on 0151-907 8518.