Witham's Relate walk-in service could be forced to close after Easter because not enough people are using it.

The weekly service at Witham Health Centre was set up ten years ago to offer support and advice to people suffering unhappy or violent relationships.

But over the last six months so few people have been making use of it that its future is now under threat.

"I'm really very concerned about this," said Beryle Cornell from Relate mid Essex. "If people do not use it, it will have to close down.

"In the past the centre has been of enormous service to people and I don't know why this has changed."

She said Relate can no longer justify the expense of offering the service when counsellors are sitting with no work to do.

Witham's Wednesday evening service is different from others offered by Relate because people can walk-in and see a counsellor that evening.

Mrs Cornell said it particularly helped in a crisis. "It's more of an emergency service.

''People come when their partners have just walked out or they have discovered an affair or a health problem and don't know how to tell their partners," she said.

Anyone who would like to see a trained Relate counsellor can call at the health centre in Mayland Road every Wednesday from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.

Relate has recently started a new service to help people living in the Braintree area.

Appointments are available in Braintree on Wednesday evenings and anyone who would like to arrange to see a counsellor there can call 01245 258680.

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