AN advice service has won funding to take on paid staff to deal with a growing workload.

Chester-le-Street District Citizens Advice Bureau, based at Ashley Terrace, off Front Street, is facing a growth in the number of people seeking help from its advisors, many of them volunteers.

With changes in the benefits system, the inquiries it receives are becoming more complex.

The bureau is doing more work, but has to deal with a regular turnover of volunteers who find paid employment after doing voluntary work.

Now, it has won funding for three years from the Northern Rock bank's charity foundation to take on two paid general advice caseworkers, and is taking its service into outlying villages. The new staff are based at the bureau's headquarters on Tuesdays and Fridays, between 10am and 3pm, and sessions are also held at The Avenues Resource Centre, in the western part of Chester-le-Street, on Wednesdays, between 10am and 2pm, and at Pelton Fell Village Hall on Fridays, between 9.30am and 1pm.

The funding has also enabled the bureau to recruit a money advice worker who is available by appointment on Mondays at the Ashley Terrace headquarters. Sessions are also held at the Sacriston Area Housing Office, Graham Court, on Wed-nesdays, between 9.30am to 1pm, when no appointment is needed.

The bureau's president, North Durham MP Giles Radice, said that the work of the bureau was "absolutely vital'' to people in the Chester-le-Street area.

Manager Deborah Parker said: "Single Regeneration Budget funding starting this September will assist a training project in casework, linking with the local authority's anti-poverty strategy and with further recruitment and training.

"The bureau has recruited and trained nine new workers in the last nine months, helped by a training accreditation scheme. This gets sufficient volunteers to offset the frequent turnover of staff into paid employment.''

She added: "The nature of advice work is changing and inquiries are becoming more complex, especially for people having disability benefits withdrawn, breaches of contract, neighbour disputes and complex claim forms.''

Anyone needing help from the bureau, or interested in becoming a volunteer, can find out more by calling 0191-389 3000.

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