DEVASTATED Rose and Stan Parker say councillors are closing the Foxes Bridge Day Centre by the back door as charges look set to soar to £80 a day.

The 70-year-olds from Ruardean are among those who have contacted The Forester to complain about charges doubling.

They say 16 people have already stopped going or cut the number of sessions because they cannot afford to attend the Cinderford day centre.

"They made a big thing of saying they were keeping the centre open and then doubled the fees," said Mrs Parker.

"A lot of people have already cancelled places and my husband can only afford one day instead of two.

"Next they will be saying there are not enough people for it to be financially viable and they need to close it down."

Mr Parker, a retired technical author who has worked for large companies such as British Aerospace, has suffered several strokes over the past five years.

His sessions have gone up from £16.32 to over £33 a day and his wife says they can now only afford one day a week.

The Forester has been told that Sheppard House in Newent has seen similar price rises.

Gloucestershire County Council say those who can afford to pay are being asked to make a contribution of £36.62 towards sessions at the Cinderford centre which cost £80 a day and are heavily subsidised.

Once people using adult social care are allocated their own personal budget, they will have to pay the full rate of £80 a day to go to Foxes Bridge. The council say this is two to three times the cost of the private centres.

Tina Reid, head of Care Provision, said tough decisions have to be made because they have to invest more money into services that help people get back on their feet after illness.

"These policy changes are meant to ensure that as resources become increasingly stretched, public money is shared out more fairly, so that people with similar levels of need get similar levels of support."