A VOLUNTEER crisis is threatening a lifeline for the elderly and disabled.

Worcester Wheels, the community transport scheme for the city, is appealing for volunteer minibus drivers to keep the vital community links it provides.

"If we don't get more volunteers in the next few weeks, I shall have no alternative but to take a vehicle off the road and tell people we can't transport them," said Sally Ellison, the manager of Worcester City Volunteer Bureau, which runs the service

Apart from providing invaluable everyday services, such as shopping and visits to the doctor, the service is a much-needed social link for hundreds of people who otherwise could not leave home.

"Many of the clients don't go out until we get there and if they didn't have this then some of them would become more isolated. They don't need their homes to become like prison cells," said Mrs Ellison.

"People who go on the bus every week get to know each other and go to town together. It's a friendly, social environment."

Volunteers have been stretched to the limit doing extra shifts, with administration staff having to take to the road. There are fears that, when clients return from holidays, things are likely to become worse.

"There is an ongoing need for this as the service keeps growing and we don't have sufficient volunteers. There is a role for everyone who comes forward to help," she said.

The scheme has about 1,200 registered clients and runs two minibuses and a people carrier, between them doing 450 to 500 journeys a week.

Although there were volunteers with their own cars, it was minibus drivers who were desperately needed because the buses carried more people and were adapted for wheelchairs, said Mrs Ellison.

Wheelchair-user Ann Dermody, aged 51, of Rodborough Drive, Worcester, has benefited from the service since it began in 1991.

"It's a lifeline as you get to keep some of your independence. I look forward to the days when I go on the minibus. It's given me so much pleasure. I'd be stuck in otherwise."

Anyone who could help as a driver or escort can contact Hedley, Jean or Sally at the Volunteer Bureau on 01905 24741.

Drivers do not need a special licence but need to be aged over 21.