CARERS are to be placed at the centre of a major initiative to ensure they are receiving all the help and support to which they are entitled.

Carers Careline has been running in Redditch for about 12 years and provides a vital lifeline for vulnerable people and the individuals who tirelessly take care of them.

As part of a national strategy, Carers Careline is launching a campaign to identify all the people in the Redditch area who are providing regular and substantial care for someone, and who may not be receiving any external support.

The charity will also soon kick-start its support days, when carers can come along and meet people in a similar situation to themselves.

Project manager Jinny Pearce said: "It is so important that carers realise they are not on their own. Other carers may have slightly different problems to them but they all have the same basic strain put on them, financially, emotionally and physically.

"At some of the sessions, we will bring speakers along to give advice and answer questions but sometimes it will be enough just for the carers to get together and speak to each other.

"We want everybody in Redditch who cares for someone in this way to know there is support and companionship available and volunteers who can give them a few hours break a week, if they need it."

Carers can also receive information and advice from Worcestershire Association of Carers on 01905 26500.

For more details about Redditch's Carers Careline, people can call Jinny Pearce on 66177.