People with reduced mobility could lose a vital service after new plans to close Bolton's Shopmobility emerged.

The service, which allows people to rent electric scooters to get around the town and do their shopping, has been based in the town centre for 25 years, but is set to close at the end of June.

Angela Twemlow, 65, has been using the service since 1996 because of a disability she has had since birth.

The Farnworth resident said: “I am absolutely gutted, it’s my lifeline, without it I would not be able to shop, meet friends, and my independence would be nil.

"You don't realise how much you rely on something until you've not got it.

"I could drive to the Bury one but I don't want to go to Bury, I want to support Bolton shops and help to keep them running.

"It's made me feel insecure about my future, I always through Shopmobility would be there for me."

Plans to close Shopmobility were revealed in November, as the funding for the service, which came from Bolton Council for over 20 years, moved to a new system that the service was not eligible for.

Ray Bates, CEO of Community Care Options, co-founded the service, and hopes to reopen Shopmobility in the future.

He said: "Shopmobility has become more that just hiring scooters, it has become somewhere members can socialise, and from what members tell us it helps to combat isolation and loneliness.

"It is my wish to try and open again in the future, because I know how important it is to our members.

"It could prove rather problematic with so many other charities and voluntary organisations seeking funding to continue their work."

The store, based at Topp Way car park, was saved from closure after Cllr Rees Gibbons and Cllr Sean Hornby spoke to leader of Bolton Council, Cllr David Greenhalgh, and secured council funding for the service until the end of June.

Cllr Gibbons is fighting against the current plans, and has vowed to do everything in his power to keep the site open.

He said: "It's an absolute disgrace to lose this service. If we're building a new hub and new shops in the centre then every body should be entitled to get to them.

"I think that more could have been done to find funding, CVS has still offered to help find funding.

"It is the elderly and the disabled that rely on this service and these people built this town and they deserve some recognition and they deserve helping.

"We'll start afresh if we have to, I know things are hard and budgets are tight but services like this should not be allowed to drift away."

One full time member of staff, two part-time staff members, and two volunteers have been given a redundancy notice which will finish on June 30.

Members pay £4 to use the scooters each day, and get free parking at the Topp Way car park, the organisation’s base.