RED Cross officials in Hampshire are axing 12 of the 21 facilities that provide elderly and disabled people with mobility aids.

The charity is pulling out of NHS health centres across the county after being charged rent for the space they occupy in the buildings.

It means service users will have to travel longer distances to borrow items of equipment - a development described as "regrettable" by Age UK.

One of the worst hit areas will be West Hampshire and the New Forest, where just two of the Red Cross facilities that provide the service will escape the cuts.

The Red Cross Centre in Greatwell Drive, Romsey, will close and staff will stop using 11 NHS buildings in various parts of Hampshire.

Mayor of Romsey, Dorothy Baverstock, said she was devastated and amazed, adding that Red Cross didn't seem to have thought it through.

The charity enables people to borrow aids such as wheelchairs, crutches and walking frames, allowing people to remain independent for longer.

Last year Red Cross branches in Hampshire loaned more than 11,000 pieces of equipment.

But Geoff Cheshire, head of operations for mobility aids, said some of the buildings used by the service were only three miles apart.

He added: "This is a very inefficient and expensive way to operate.

"We cannot justify this expense to either our donors, our service users in other parts of the country or other local people who need our help.

“We have therefore given notice to leave 11 NHS properties and close one Red Cross centre.

"This will allow us to continue providing vital mobility aids from nine Red Cross buildings across the county. Hampshire will still have more centres than any other county in the UK."

Mayor Baverstock said the decision seemed to be based purely on finances.

She added: "I am devastated and amazed that Red Cross believe that people can get from Romsey or North Baddesley to Eastleigh easily or to Andover, which is impossible.

"Geographically, they do not seem to have thought this through and I suspect it is based purely on finance, not services they provide or are needed in an area."

Mr Cheshire cited the introduction of charges for using health centres.

He said: “We have also been receiving demands for service charges for the space we occupy in NHS properties. As a charity we cannot remain in properties where there's a potential cost.

"We are exploring other options such as online ordering, home deliveries and mobile services to specific hard-to-reach locations."

One of the charity's volunteers, Mike Shucksmith, added: "Until two years ago NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups allowed the Red Cross to operate, without charge, in local health centres.

"Management of the health centres and similar properties was then taken over by another authority which decided that commercial rents would be charged.

"After fruitless negotiations the Red Cross has had no choice but to shut all these services, except for a few such as Fordingbridge which are in premises created specifically by the local community.

"Centres in Ringwood, Romsey, Totton, Hythe and North Baddesley - and others - will all close by the end of the year.

"The whole of the West Hampshire/New Forest area will be served by either ourselves at Fordingbridge or Lymington. This may prove to be an unmanageable demand."

Peter Bennie, chief officer of Age UK Southampton, said: "It is regrettable that the Red Cross has had to make these changes to the mobility aids service.

"We all very aware of increasing levels of demand driven by an increasing older population, and one that is experiencing higher levels of complex, long-term needs.

"It is an ongoing challenge for the voluntary sector to maintain services on which the public depend without some significant external investment.”

NHS Property Services added: "Despite the best efforts of NHS Property Services and our partners at the British Red Cross and the relevant Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) , it has not been possible to find a sustainable solution for payment.

"At a time of major change and increasing demand for the NHS, we must recover legitimate costs."

The service will cease operating from:

Portchester Health Centre, Ringwood Health Centre, Gosport War Memorial Hospital, North Baddesley Health Centre, Hythe Medical Centre, Romsey Red Cross Centre, Waterlooville Health Centre, Totton Health Centre, Havant Health Centre, Lee-on-the-Solent Health Centre, Yateley Medical Centre and Alton Health Centre.

The service will continue to operate from:

Fordingbridge Red Cross, Hayling Island Red Cross, Lymington Red Cross, Portsmouth Red Cross, Eastleigh Red Cross, Andover Red Cross, Gillies House Health Centre, Basingstoke, Fareham Health Centre and The Hart Volunteer Centre at Fleet