AN AYRSHIRE support service wants to help people in crisis after they helped a desperate Dalry family just before Christmas.

Ayrshire Women’s Hub issued an online rallying call to help a young mum and her two children who were left without food due to an issue with Universal credit.

Their online appeal grabbed the attention of kind residents in North Ayrshire who helped support the family, but the Hub which deal with critical situations on a daily basis now want accessible funds to deal with a crisis.

Founder Angie McPike wants to continue to help families on the brink of going hungry or being unable to heat their homes.

She hopes to raise £3,000 through The Ayrshire Community Fund to allow families instant access to fund the event of an emergency.

Angie told the Herald: “The idea behind this is crisis intervention. People might have access to a food bank, but they can’t cook because there’s no back up gas or electricity.

“There are some whose kids haven’t had a warm bath in six weeks.

“People would come to us in situations where they have no food or can’t afford their rent. What happened in Dalry is a normal everyday occurrence for us, but we had already given out to 267 families across Ayrshire and we had nothing else left so we had to make an appeal for further support.

“We’re not funded in any way shape or form, anything we do we have to rely on donations. Having a fund that is available allows us to help.

“One woman had three young children and was left with £6 to get through to the end of the year. She only had £5 emergency gas and electricity, we contacted the provider to get credit put on to it, but they refused, they would only loan it to her but she would have to pay it back

“If we had the funds available that would get her through Christmas until she received her Universal Credit.

“It’s a huge crisis, but if we were to work together, if every other avenue falls down, it would be good to have that where we can turn around and say we will sort everything out.”