Pressure of work brought on by the recession has forced Ely s hard-pressed Citizens Advice Bureau to take over additional office space in the city to cope with the workload. The bureau has taken up space at Central Hall in Market Street, just a few yards

Pressure of work brought on by the recession has forced Ely's hard-pressed Citizens Advice Bureau to take over additional office space in the city to cope with the workload.

The bureau has taken up space at Central Hall in Market Street, just a few yards away from its headquarters in Market Street. The additional space will create more room for training volunteer advisers and for specialist debt and benefit advisers.

"It's a nerve racking decision that we have had to make," says CAB manager Beverly Howard, "but our current office space is so absurdly inadequate that we have simply not been able to help all the people who have been knocking on our door in recent months. We are a charity and finding the funding for the move is proving to be a major undertaking. However, this situation cannot be allowed to continue at a time when our services are so very badly needed. People need help and advice straight away - the prospect of losing your home is not something that can be put on the back burner - and we are seeing more and more Ely residents faced with this predicament as a result of the recession.

"Unprecedented cuts in funding to local Government are inevitably taking their toll further down the chain and charities such as CAB are among the most vulnerable. What public money we have we invest in our services for clients, matching as much as �5 for every �1 that we receive from East Cambridgeshire District Council with specialist projects that further support our clients."

The CAB is also appealing to the business community in East Cambridgeshire to support the move by donating office furniture such as desks or spare computers or laptops. Anyone who wishes to make a donation or donate office items should contact Beverly Howard on: 0845 1306442.

Opening Hours: (Ely) Monday to Friday 9.15am to 1.30pm. Tel: 0845 1306442

Drop in sessions at 70 Market St, Ely.

Monday: 9.15am to 12.00 Benefits and Debt Clinic 1.00 to 3.00pm

Tuesday: Debt and Benefits Clinic - 1pm to 3pm

Wednesday: 9.15am to 12pm.

Thursday: 9.15am to 12pm.

Burwell Trinity Rms: Monday - 9.30am - 11.30am

Littleport Medical Centre: Monday - 10.30am - 12.30pm

Soham Care & Repair: Wednesday - 9.30am - 12.30 pm

INFO: www.elycab.org.uk