A FAMILY-RUN home care company rated Outstanding by the CQC has opened a new Thirsk office in a former school that has stood empty for three years.

Continued Care has now launched its new service for the Thirsk area and held an open day on at its new office in The Old School at Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe.

Visitors and invited guests joined Continued Care staff to watch the ribbon being cut by Dr Gill Wight, committee chair of Sutton Village Hall, a registered charity which owns the building.

In her speech, she welcomed Continued Care to The Old School and talked about the committee’s delight at seeing it put back into community use after lying empty for three years.

Built in the Victorian period, the building served as the village school until 2007, when it was closed due to falling pupil numbers.

A year later, it was purchased by the Village Hall Committee, partly thanks to a legacy from Evelyn Peake, who lived at Sutton Hall and whose family owned large parts of the village.

An original bequest of about £2,000 made by Mrs Peake for charitable, religious and educational purposes was found to have remained untouched for more than half a century, and had increased in value to £75,000.

Continued Care offers flexible care services ranging from 15-minute pop-in visits to 24-hour live-in support. It also provides respite care and support for people discharged from hospital.