WEAR Valley pensioners are joining 1,000 other campaigners from across the country in a mass lobby of parliament next week.

Members of the Wear Valley and Auckland branch of the North-East Pensioners Association hope to meet their constituency MPs Helen Goodman and Hilary Armstrong next Wednesday for talks on a new Pensioners' Charter.

The lobby has been organised by the National Pensioners Convention as part of a campaign to promote a series of rights for all older people.

The charter lists ten basic rights on issues such as pensions, health care, education, travel and discrimination.

More than 300 MPs are being targeted, making it one of the biggest co-ordinated protests.

Branch secretary Reg Davison said: "Many older people feel that the years they spent raising a family, paying taxes and building the nation are suddenly forgotten when they retire.

"Somehow they are seen as a burden on society and as a result they receive a state pension of just £82 a week. Many struggle to remain independent in their own homes because of cuts in local care services and others face discrimination when they go outside their front door.

"It's about time pensioners had some rights that would ensure dignity and security in retirement."