TWO Trowbridge-based counselling services are going head-to-head in a bidding war for a council contract with the loser facing closure.

Revival and Help Counselling Services, both at Bridge

House, are preparing bids for a Wiltshire County Council contract to provide a counselling service for adult victims of sexual abuse.

Both charities face almost certain closure if their bid fails, and in a worst-case scenario they could both be forced to shut if the contract is awarded to another party.

Revival, which already provides a counselling service for victims of sexual abuse, has stopped taking on new clients and only has funds to continue until the end of June, when money from a £200,000 lottery grant dries up.

The situation is equally dire for Help Counselling Services, which was given a three-month stay of execution after fears it would have to close at the end of this month.

Financial problems arose when the county council axed a £19,000 annual grant but funding will continue until the contract is awarded. County council officers were supposed to send out papers for a tendering process to start in April but the process has been delayed until late May/

early June.

David Thompson, service manager for Help Counselling, said even if the contract was secured he would still have to find money to keep the service's core service afloat including counselling for drink and drug addicts and victims of domestic violence.

"The last thing voluntary

organisations want is to be in competition with each other," he said.

"We refer people to Revival and they do to us and we also share voluntary staff.

"I resent the fact we have to bid for the same pot of cash. It doesn't rest easy with any of us.

"There will be no blood on the carpet between us but the outcome could be damaging for one of us, or even both of us."

The 20-year-old service was in the process of winding-up when the county council announced a three-month delay in the tendering process.

Maggi Hammond, client support manager at Revival, said it was a case of "robbing Peter to pay Paul".

"It is a really, really difficult situation for both of us," she said.

A county council spokesman said the authority had a statutory duty to put out to tender any contract worth more than £25,000."