Charities helping the elderly and vulnerable face losing money under planned County Hall cuts.

Leicestershire County Council wants to slash £138,000 in subsidies for county groups – and a further £500,000 from transport schemes such as free rides to day centres.

Charities say they will fight to keep vital projects running.

One scheme facing a cut is Voluntary Action Melton, which runs a befriending scheme which helps the elderly and vulnerable with tasks like shopping and collecting pensions.

Chief officer Kathy McKinley said volunteers helped 22 people a week.

She said: "It prevents people from going into care and we would be very disappointed if it disappeared.

"We had hoped the council would look at it in the long term and not just consider the short-term benefits of saving money.

"We plan to fight this all the way."

The council has contracts with voluntary organisations worth £6.6 million a year – paying for services for people with dementia, learning and physical disabilities.

It also provides free transport for those needing social care and unable to get to adult learning or day centres on their own.

The council plans to axe subsidies from 15 projects before reviewing the rest of its voluntary contracts.

Removing subsidies from the 15 projects will save £138,000 – although the council aims to eventually save £750,000 a year from the voluntary sector.

County Hall also plans to revise its adult social care transport policy, making changes which will eventually cut £500,000 a year from a £2m budget.

The council argue it is purely "decommissioning" services so people can pay for them out of their own care budgets.

This year the county council is starting the national "personalisation" programme – which sees people given a lump sum from the council to buy the care they want, rather than getting free services direct from the council.

Councillor David Sprason, cabinet member for adults and communities, said: "They are all very important services but we can't commission them any more. The voluntary sector can continue to provide those services but they will have to offer them direct to people who want them.

Projects set to lose money

Voluntary Action South Leicestershire:  Befriending scheme.

Voluntary  Action Blaby:  Community self-help services.

Voluntary Action Charnwood: Gardening service.

Syston Voluntary centre: Befriending/shopping service; wheelchair hire scheme.

Voluntary Action Melton: Befriending scheme.

Voluntary Action Oadby and Wigston: Befriending scheme.

Voluntary Action Castle Donington: Gardening service; paired reading programme; visual and disabled social group.

Marlene Reid Centre:  Community self-help services;  money advice service.

Lutterworth Voluntary Centre: Community/self-help services; befriending scheme; education support scheme.

"This isn't about us not providing a service, it's about it being delivered another way."

But Councillor Simon Galton leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group, said the big policy changes were a direct result of the decision to cut.

He added: "We have consistently said these sort of issues should be the ones most protected – they should be at the top of the list. Instead, back-office functions like PR should really be affected by the cuts because the public doesn't see them."

Charles Huddleston, of Leicestershire charity Clasp, which supports an estimated 120,000 carers, said he was concerned about the cuts to free transport. He said: "It's one of those things that seems reasonable but means people who need transport might not get it."

The new transport policy will come info force in October and at the same time a public consultation will begin into the voluntary subsidies.