Sadness over Sheffield store closure that supported disabled peopleÂ

Shopmobility Sheffield was a volunteer-led service which had been running for more than two decades and provided wheelchairs and mobility scooters for hire from its outlets at Crystal Peaks shopping centre and on West Street in the city centre.

It closed suddenly last week, with no warning for the many users who relied on the service, around a year-and-a-half after its council grant was axed. A number of Star readers have now expressed their sadness over the closure in a series of Facebook posts. 

Angela Bingham said: 'This is such a shame, my grandad was a regular customer and it helped him to be independent. 

'We should be helping our older people who have paid into the system for years and also people who need help with their mobility to be able to socialise and shop independently. 

'My heart sank when I saw it had closed.'  

Pamela Turner added that she 'could have cried' when she heard the news.  

Sue Gladwin described the closure as 'such a shame.'  

Annis Ward agreed and said: 'A lot of people will miss it.' 

A volunteer at the charity, who asked not to be named, said: 'We've tried to keep our heads above water since losing the council funding, but it got to the point where we could no longer afford to keep going.'

The council announced last year that it was ending Shopmobility's £14,000 a year grant after the charity lost out to private firm Clark and Partners in its bid for a new tender.

Clark and Partners launched a similar service called Mobile Sheffield, funded by the council and Sheffield Business Improvement District (BID), which continues to operate from The Moor Market.

Shopmobility Sheffield said at the time that it had 10,000 registered users.