UP to 300 charity organisations which help the elderly, disabled, homeless, children and other people in need on the Yorkshire coast face a funding crisis, according to the chief executive of the Scarborough Council for Voluntary Services.

Colin Barnes said the voluntary groups were finding that funders were reluctant to give money to a project after its initial set-up grants ran out, there was less money from the National Lottery, financial pressure on local authorities, and that small groups were failing to compete with national organisations to win major funding.

He said: "This situation means that vulnerable people will not be able to get help and a lot of stretched and isolated services will be stretched even further."

Scarborough Primary Care Trust is planning to arrange a meeting with representatives of Scarborough Council and North Yorkshire Social Services to discuss the problem.