After nearly 50 years of serving the Copeland and Allerdale community Age UK West Cumbria will be closing the doors to its shops and cease operating.

In a post on Social Media the charity that started in 1979 as Age Concern Copeland and Age Concern Allerdale, before becoming Age Concern Northwest Cumbria in 1993, and then finally Age UK West Cumbria in February 2011 confirmed the difficult decision.

In the statement released the charity wrote: “Age UK West Cumbria has faced a number of financial challenges and unfortunately the Board of Trustees have made the difficult decision to cease operating on Friday 31st May 2024 meaning that the Charity is no longer able to continue offering services to older people across West Cumbria.

“We are sad and disappointed that it has come to this. As you would expect our number one priority is how we can now best support older people in the area and we are now looking at the best way this can be achieved locally.

“We are mindful that this news will be upsetting for the older people that we support, as well as our staff, volunteers and stakeholders.

“We have contacted everyone that will be affected by this news and will continue to update beneficiaries, staff and volunteers.

“In the meantime, anyone with any concerns can contact Age UK West Cumbria on 01900 844670. Any older person of their families looking for help can also contact the Age UK national advice line on 0800 055 6112.

“Thank you for your support over the years.”

The 45 years of service to the community made it a high street staple with six local charity shops and a one stop equipment shop to raise funds.

It then used the money raised to support independent living, contracts and grants to deliver particular services, donations and a range of fundraising activities.

The charity has provided no further explanation as to why it will cease operations.

The charity will close the doors to its shops on Friday, May 31, and are currently selling off stock in their stores.