A safety forum for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is facing crisis after more than half the committee members resigned.

The remaining four are struggling to run the group and urgently need new members.

Five committee members, including the chairwoman and vice-chairman, resigned for differing personal reasons before Christmas.

Anthea Ballam took over as chairwoman of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Safety Forum six months ago when James Ledward stood down to be vice-chairman. She has resigned due to work commitments, as did secretary Paul Martin.

Mr Ledward stood down as vice-chairman to concentrate on editing G-scene magazine.

Committee member David Harvey left when he was appointed chairman of Pride and Morham White resigned because of work in the United States.

Interim chairman David Miller said: "The forum does vital work for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in the county.

"The committee members announced their resignations during the same meeting in December, which left us slightly shell-shocked. They all have personal reasons for not wanting to remain on the committee. It is simply a case of bad timing.

"Some people have already expressed an interest in becoming committee members but we need more people to come forward."

The forum is part of the anti-victimisation unit (AVU), which was set up in Brighton and Hove in 2001 to encourage people to report homophobic and racist attacks and domestic violence.

It works alongside the police and people can report incidents anonymously.

The AVU was thrown into disarray last year when its cash ran out.

Members are now hopeful they will be given £510,000 from the Government's Single Regeneration Budget scheme to keep going for another year.

Mr Miller said: "We've had a tough time but we are not going to give up, even if some people may wish us to.

"We are passionate about what we do and we will not entertain the thought of the group folding."

A special general meeting has been called for Thursday, February 6, to discuss the future of the forum. Anyone interested in becoming a committee member is invited to attend.

For more information, call 01273 773344.