Charity farm near Exeter under threat of closure

General manager Matt Staite said cuts to funding may mean the activities may have to end

A charity farm that provides day care activities for people with learning difficulties and autism is struggling due to a funding shortfall.

Heathfield Farm at Broadclyst near Exeter runs weekly activities for people including cooking and farming.

The farm is run by a charity called Devon Link Up and managers have warned cuts to funding mean it may have to stop its services.

General manager Matt Staite said it was "under a serious threat of closure".

Trustees of the charity said they were "confident" that it had "sufficient resources to keep the operation running for the foreseeable future".

They said "like all small charities" it was "finding funding difficult" and "should more clients and additional funding not materialise in the coming months the trustees will need to reconsider the sustainability of the farm in due course".

The service provides activities like cooking, craft skills and gardening for about 25 adults with learning disabilities or autism every week.

Mr Staite said: "Challenges are competition for funding, particularly for core costs and for getting enough people through the doors to balance the books.

"Realistically we are under a serious threat of closure in the near future."

Simone, a support worker for one of the adults who attends the day care, said: "It means a lot to a lot of people and it gets people socialising."