A counselling service which has been supporting vulnerable young people for more than 20 years is raising awareness of its services.

Whittlesey Young People’s Counselling Service is a charity that offers free confidential counselling to young people aged between 14 and 25 who live in Whittlesey or the surrounding area.

The people they support are often battling depression, crippled by low self esteem, victims of bullying or dealing with family problems.

The service is based at the Jenner Health Centre, Stanground Surgery, Yaxley Group Practice, Sir Harry Smith Community College and Stanground College.

The charity is dependent on grants and donations and has received funding from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group.

Louise Russell, one of the counsellors, said: “The Whittlesey Young People’s Counselling Service is currently trying to increase local awareness of the services we provide and are conscious that in order to sustain the service for the long term we have to start spreading the word to the local community about raising funds.”

Friends and customers of The Letter B pub in Whittlesey put on a 53 mile bike ride earlier this year which raised £900 for the charity.

This enabled them to pay for three young people to get 12 free counselling sessions.

Mrs Russell said: “We currently have 14 people waiting on the list. Our aim is to offer the service to the young people without waiting as young peoples issues are usually immediate and can soon escalate to more serious issues requiring Cambs Hospital intervention if they are left.”

If you would like to support the charity, call Louise on 07779 999912or e-mail louiserussell8@me.com. Alternatively, speak to Bruce Bonar at the Jenner Health Centre.