A home care service for the elderly set up after the closure of the French Convalescent Home may close if it can't secure more cash.

Renaissance Care was established in a bid to keep the spirit of the convalescent home alive by manager Catherine Gennaro and several members of her staff.

The service, based in Edward Street, Brighton, has more than 80 elderly clients and offers advice, support and help with gardening and shopping.

Now the service is facing a serious financial shortfall following a failed lottery bid for £40,000. If alternative funding is not found soon, the service may have to end.

Mrs Gennaro said: "If we cannot get more money, we will have to close down. It seems so sad after having worked hard and started up all over again."

There was uproar when Bovis announced plans to pull down the French Convalescent Home in Kemp Town two years ago and replace it with a sheltered housing development.

But after a vigorous campaign, supported by The Argus, the building was listed and the developers abandoned their plans.

Despite this, the home's French trustees still closed the building forcing dozens of residents to move elsewhere.

It has stood empty since, although work to convert the building into 14 flats is expected to begin within weeks after Gladedale paid £1.5 million to take over the contract.

Renaissance Care is now appealing for more money and is in the process of applying for status as a registered charity, a move that may help the service secure additional funding.

Mrs Gennaro said: "We have been inundated with people wanting help and advice they cannot always get elsewhere.

"We were hoping we would get lottery money but unfortunately, the lottery board did not think what we were doing was worthwhile."

Since she started the service, Mrs Gennaro has worked on a voluntary basis for up to 50 hours a week, often carrying out the domestic work herself because she refuses to turn people away.

She added: "We offer a lot of advice and help for nothing in return and I don't get paid. I think the older generation gets a rotten deal. Everyone sees them as a burden. They deserve some respect."

Mrs Gennaro dismisses the idea of looking elsewhere for a well-paid job using her nursing training and masters degree.

She said: "I could get work in a management role and earn a lot of money but I wouldn't get the same satisfaction I get from this work."

The service is holding a fund-raising bring-and-buy sale at its Edward Street offices tomorrow, between 11am and 3pm. It is also seeking donations of prizes for a Christmas draw.