THE future of Kidderminster's Scope shop is uncertain following the announcement that 50 of the charity's 300 shops are set to close, due to a predicted £10 million deficit.

It is yet to be decided which stores will close but a spokesman for the disability rights charity said Kidderminster's branch in Worcester Street had not been ruled out as a possibility.

Fears of a poor performance on the high street and a fall in fund-raising money were blamed for cash problems.

The charity has also faced problems with its pension fund and needs to refurbish some of its older buildings to provide disabled access.

A Scope spokesman said: "We can confirm that 50 of our shops are making a loss at present and this has been the case for two or possibly three years. No-one would expect a private company, a supermarket chain or clothing company to keep open a shop that's continually losing money and the same is true for a charity. It does not make economic sense to keep them open."

Scope was originally set up in 1952. The charity underwent a re-branding exercise more than 10 years ago that included changing its name from The Spastics Society.

The charity's spokesman added: "We have not identified which branches will be closing at the moment and can't confirm one way or another if the Kidderminster branch will be affected.

"These are all measures we have to carry out to ensure our future."