THE Lord Mayor has praised a charity which helps support carers, saying she is one of the many people who benefitted from their services.

Lord Mayor Cllr Barbara Boyce thanked staff at York Carers Centre for their work with people who spend their lives looking after loved ones.

She said: "York Carers Centre provides vital support, advice and information to carers of all ages. They were an enormous help to me when I was trying to cope with a relative with dementia and I cannot praise them highly enough for the work they are doing.

"There are very many people in York who act as unpaid carers to friends and relatives.

"Some are very young and caring for a parent whilst trying to manage their schoolwork at the same time. Others may be in their eighties and looking after a sick partner or disabled adult ‘child’ whilst trying to cope with their own increasing frailty.

"Sometimes their own career or education suffers because of their caring duties. Many of them are totally unrecognised and unaware of any help available to them, and the carers centre can be a real life line."

The organisation offers advice and support to all carers.