Lincolnshire: Farming charity sees 90% rise in helpline calls

The charity said many of the calls it received related to financial concerns

A charity which supports farming and horticultural communities in Lincolnshire said it had seen a 90% increase to its helpline in a year.

The Lincolnshire Rural Support Network (LRSN) received 171 calls in the financial year 2022/23.

The organisation said many of the calls related to concerns over money and debt.

LRSN said it had recruited an additional 12 volunteers to deal with rising demand.

"Last year alone we've had a 90% increase in calls to our helpline which is astounding," said the charity's head Amy Thomas.

"They are in crisis quite often when they come to us.

"It is really worrying and quite sad so many people need our help."

The organisation said loneliness is a "massive issue" for many people in rural communities

Ms Thomas said they had seen a "huge rise" in the number of finance and debt-related cases.

"We've not only got the challenges in terms of rising costs but we also have the challenge in that agricultural policy is changing.

"People are really beginning to see the reduction in what they've been receiving in subsidy and having to really think quite hard about what they are going to do next."

Ms Thomas said they also received a number of calls relating to family and relationship issues, adding that loneliness was a "massive issue" for rural communities.

The organisation is run by a team of 52 volunteers.

It operates the helpline alongside running health drop-in sessions and screenings and also offers one-to-one home and business visits.

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