SWINDON Samaritans has warned charities may have to cast their net further for funding in the future after a branch failed in a £300,000 lottery bid.

The Sheffield Samaritans was told its bid had been turned down for not attracting specific 'priority' groups, such as asylum seekers, ethnic minorities and the elderly.

But volunteer and spokesman for the Swindon Samaritans, James Dove, said that the Swindon branch was targeting ethnic minority groups and the young through schools and local publicity.

He said: "It is a competitive market out there for lottery money and there are lots of different worthwhile charities applying for cash.

"Here in Swindon we are targeting young people in schools, and ethnic minority groups within their communities providing services and literature in many languages.

"Maybe it is time to stop relying on the possibility of lottery funds perhaps as charities we should be casting our nets even further."

Many funds have been bequeathed to the Swindon Samaritans, which lends a listening ear to depressed and suicidal people, over the years while a Samaritans shop in Curtis Street provides much-needed cash.

Now the Sheffield branch may close, which could have devastating consequences for the thousands of desperate people who call the branch every year.

Calls to the Samaritans would be diverted to other regional branches, which are already overstretched, if the centre closed.