A race against time was this afternoon under way to save a vital service for young York people with learning difficulties.

Special Needs Activities and Play Provision York (Snappy) must raise thousands of pounds or it will be forced to abandon its projects for 14 to 19-year-olds and 19 to 25-year-olds.

Dozens of young people with special needs will lose the opportunity to learn self-sufficiency for use in later life and a unique link to their friends if the projects are closed.

Sandra Shaw, of Skelton, whose 13-year-old son Ashley has been going to Snappy each week since he was four, said she was angered that Saturday might be the last time Ashley can attend because of the cash crisis.

"I can't believe it's going to close," she said.

"Other children take for granted all the activities that are laid on for them in York, but Snappy is all Ashley and his friends have outside school and they are entitled to it."

The charity has found itself competing against a growing number of organisations for council funding and donations, and while the threat of closure has loomed over Snappy's projects before, never has there been so urgent a plea for cash.

York Mencap's honorary chairman Ken Long, whose three children have all attended Snappy, said: "There is nowhere else for them in York and they will be devastated if it does close.

"They love going there because they can do the things other people do and can communicate with their friends."

Snappy needs around £3,000 a month to keep the youth and senior projects open and they are appealing to York residents and businesses to dig deep.

The young people who attend learn life skills, including first aid, sign language, IT skills, money management and drug and alcohol awareness.

The charity's executive officer, Anne Pemberton, said Snappy was a lifeline for the city's young people with learning difficulties.

"We can give them what every other person their age already has - they can go out clubbing, stay out late and do other things it's difficult to do if you have disabilities," she said.

"There's nothing else like that in York."

Donations can be sent to Snappy, Burton Stone Community Centre, Evelyn Crescent, York, YO3 6DR.