The Town Crier is launching a campaign to raise £10,000 to help the Huntingdonshire Young Carers project, which offers children much-needed respite from caring for ill family members.

Part of St Ives-based charity West Anglia Crossroads Caring for Carers, the project narrowly escaped closure this year after a lottery grant ran out.

Thanks to generous donations and support from Cambridgeshire County Council, the group is still running, albeit with a skeleton staff and reduced to just three projects – school groups, one-to-one Social Service commissioned work and a newsletter.

But the Town Crier doesn't think that is enough, and we are asking for your help to give these vulnerable young carers a boost.

We'll plug any fundraising schemes you organise, be it a boot sale, coffee morning or a bungee jump. We've also set up a community bank account for those who'd like to show their support by making a donation.

The Young Carers Project is aimed at children and young people under the age of 19 whose lives are restricted by their caring responsibilities for a family member who has a disability, long-term illness, mental health problem or who misuses drugs or alcohol.

Leading researcher on young carers from Loughborough University Saul Becker this year estimated that two per cent of under 18-year-olds in the country are young carers.

It would mean there are about 2,660 young carers in the local area and around 20 young carers in every secondary school with 1,000 pupils.

>> Young Carers Project